Fate Kaleidoscope
by Mu-Sensei
Summary: Zelrech was bored, and Shirou was prime quality entertainment. Let the boy try and be a hero as much as he wanted, until he finds the way back home. Unnoficial Sequel to Gabriel Blessing's Shirou Emiya: Erogame Protagonist
1. - Bloody Angel Nights -

I woke up once more on unfamiliar surroundings.

To my credit (or maybe just resignation), I wasn't even fazed this time. Sure, I was in an empty train wagon, clutching some sort of sheet of paper… But I have been through stranger places.

Back to the problem at hand.

A _mostly_ blank sheet of paper. There was a logo on the leftmost top of it, the words top secret printed in a light shade in the background, and a signature that my local-self identified as being father's. And a single word printed on paper.

Resentment, sadness and anger tried to force a way out my local memories, but I held them back. Surely, if father really worked on the command for a military organization on such a large scale (or at least that was his job according to my local-self memories), he must have pushed me away to protect me, or because he simply hadn't the _time_ to raise me.

Saving people was important afterall.

I still wish for my local-self's emotional stability's sake, that he could have spared the time to have a proper letter asking me back, but you never know the circumstances he was when he wrote. Maybe it was some sort of emergency, which would explain the empty train wagon, and the official paper.

Or the sheet had some sort of code, perhaps? I held it against light. Nothing. I focused on the details of the logo. Nothing there either. I traced a small half-inch metal shard halfway inside my finger, and dissipated it, smudging the paper with a bit of my blood. Nope, no result.

You know what? The last one was a waste of time, really.

'trace on' I muttered my aria and scanned the paper. No. Just your ordinary paper sheet, ordinary paper ink, if a bit old, and ordinary pen ink. No secret message then. So much for _that_ theory.

* * *

_**KALEIDOSCOPE - PART ONE - BLOODY ANGEL'S NIGHTS**_

_**PROLOGUE - AWAKENING**_

* * *

It was a strange sight to take, leaving an empty train to an empty station, right in the middle of the day. It was unnatural and _highly_ disturbing. Like a nightmare I had once, where I was the last living person on earth.

Still, I checked the _other_ paper, where a handwritten message in a hasty feminine calligraphy (four loops ago I wouldn't be capable of identifying femininity in a _girl_, now I can do it in _handwriting_. *sigh*) pointed the meeting point in the side street of the station. I promptly ignored the photography that came with the note, after memorizing the _face_ of the person I was to meet with.

I held back a gasp of shock when I noticed the upturned cars and the debris that lined the place like a _warzone_. There was even a ship, sticking out of the ground upright like one of those cheap Godzilla movies that Musubi liked to watch so much.

And there was the smell of magic and blood. Faint, but ever-present like a fog around the city.

I saw Ilya standing there for a moment. White hair, clear skin, and those piercing red eyes. Only it _wasn't_ her. Shorter hair, a taller girl, and no expression unlike my sister's ever present (even amidst death threats) smile. Something else crossed in front of my line of sight (a pigeon, I think) and she _wasn't there_ anymore.

Nice. I'm hallucinating now.

The telephone cables overhead shake, warning of something approaching. In hindsight, a hurricane or typhoon was out (the skies were clear and blue), but the empty city just spoke of an earthquake alert.

As If on cue, the ground shook and quaked, and my nose was assaulted by that smell again. Not the subtle fog like as before. This time it hit me like a _truck _full of bricks at a hundred miles per hour. I sunk to my knees and gagged, nearly pushing my guts through my mouth, like my insides were knotting itselves into highly elaborate French braids.

It was _alien_, it was _evil_, and it was hell-bent in killing _everything_. Not even Primate Murder (and yes, I've been in Its presence) was as bad.

And **IT** (deserving of bold and capital letters) was over _hundred_ feet, black with white bones making a beak-like face and a pair of rib-hands holding a large blood-red jewel in the midst of **ITs** chest. Both arms and legs looked from distance like twigs in comparison with the bulky body, but were probably thicker than my last school water tower.

Some sort of aircraft also appeared, in massive numbers bombarding the gigantic creature with all sorts of weaponry. It was doing nothing, or better yet, the missiles and bombs were somehow exploding in mid-air before hitting the target.

The creature roared, and made a lance out of its hand, destroying one of the planes. The others gave space, but continued the useless bombardment. **IT** made the lance again. Someone was going to fall, and it wasn't going to be the beast for the way it looked like.

Without thinking, I made my bow, and pulled its string. Caladbolg drank deeply in my Od's reserves, but I needed something capable of hurting such a big monster, and that was one of my better choices.

A missile flew over my head, and the tremors intensified, but I ignored everything. There was me, there was the target, there was the arrow. I saw the path connecting us, I saw where the strike would be made… and I released.

Caladbolg struck true, right after a blue car stopped half a meter of running me over. (Saber would've struck my head a thousand times for dropping my awareness to this dismal amount _only_ because I was snipping).

The creature roared with pain and rage, and the woman from the photo, the same one in the car, gaped at the results of my shot and I nearly smacked myself for the blatant demonstration of supernatural powers in front of a civilian. But that wasn't going to help…

"I used to play with rocket arrows since I was nine. I guess the thing can't block the attacks it can't see coming." I lied with a straight face, feeling much like Alice those times she wanted to keep my attention off her feelings.

"Just get in the car!" She yelled.

"All right, all right."

Another missile roared overhead, and I heard the explosion of one of those weird helicopters.

I shoved my bag in the backseat of the blue car and belted myself to the seat. She didn't even let me finish closing the door, and stomped the pedal hard enough for the tires to screech.

Not a moment later **IT** stomped the place the car just left, and missiles bombarded the area.

"But it was nearly a mile away! How fast is that thing!?" I blurted out against my own judgment.

"It was a field-assisted jump, it seems." The woman rubbed her forehead, still keeping the pedal floored. "Sorry about early, but I needed you to move fast." She took the sunglasses off and smiled.

"No problem. I'm Shirou."

She made a face. "I'm Misato Katsuragi… _Shirou_? Not Shinji Ikari?" She made a 'are you serious?!' face, and only looked to the street briefly enough to evade an upturned tank.

"Ah…" Oh shit, _THAT_ never happened before. I usually get to keep my name, at least as a nickname, and my surname is either Sahashi or Emiya, usually the former. "…well, that is a nickname actually. But I prefer it over Shinji. I don't like that name." Technically true, as it brought the face of my former friend and master of the murderously insane King of Heroes, and one other servant that may or may not be Rider.

"Oh. Family issues, I guess." I shrug.

"It doesn't matter."

"OK. So what is with the rocket arrow?" She changed subjects. "I take you weren't exactly a quiet, well behaved kid as they seen to say."

So there were _reports_ on me. "I was a kid. We are only well behaved when people are looking, if at all." She giggled.

Not very detailed ones, considering my not-so-fond memories of my uncle and auntie, but you can't expect soldiers to make a good job in child-care. "And I like to experiment with scrap and junk." I thought about it for a sec, and added "And as every kid, I loved to swordplay and archery."

She parked the car on a small out of town hill, and took a binocular to watch the battle from afar. I reinforced my eyes and looked too, seeing the weird planes dropping like swatted flies, and the heavy artillery not hurting the damned thing at all.

Even my broken phantasm has only made a nick on the red jewel, easily dismissed as a natural imperfection or trick of light by those who don't know exactly where it is. I doubt is even a single-inch deep.

"Oh my they're going to!" Instead of finishing, she dropped her rather prominent chest on my head and smothered me below her body, but rather than a child abuse, it was _needed_, because an explosion was both heard and felt, the car tumbling, spinning and landing upside down out of the street. I got a couple of bruises, but my worried were on her.

"Are you OK?" We both asked each other. And laughed.

"Fine here." I smiled. "A few bruises and a little dazed, but nothing serious."

"Yeah, I'll be sore for days." She shook her head, probably to get rid of the cobwebs and we got out of the car.

We had to turn it around, and fix it (with duct tape), but we managed to enter the geofront base as she called.

For a moment I sworn I was entering the _Bloodfort_.

"Are you ok?" She asked with concern.

"Yeah, just a little dazed. Probably backlash from before." I lied again. Sadly I'm getting good at it.

She presented me a manila folder with a manual, and I nearly cried in happiness 'Finally a world that _do_ comes with an instruction manual!' and started devouring the thing, absent-mindedly following Misato-san after we left the parking lot.


	2. Interference

_**CHAPTER 1 - INTERFERENCE**_

* * *

"I think were lost." I kept reading the booklet about operational procedures.

"Jeez, could they have made this place _more_ complicated!?" My guide groaned and scratched her head.

I sighed, and put a hand to the wall, under the guise of supporting myself. Ignoring the terrible feeling on my insides and the hideous blood fog permeating the place on my senses, I used analysis on the building. I had to agree with her. Such overly complicated structures, secret passages and all, makes this place like a dungeon. High-tech dungeon, alright, but a dungeon nonetheless. I felt a human prana signature too, coming from…

"Misato-san? I think we should go this way." I walked without waiting for her. Really, if my father's reason to bring me here is protection, that would take a weight off his shoulders. If not, well delaying the inevitable wouldn't help, so let's get this over and just blame Zelrech.

"Hey, Shin- no Shirou! Wait, this way leads to the-"

I push the unlabeled door's button to open it. A hangar? I reinforced my eyes trying to discern anything from the almost unnatural darkness. My insides twisted once more, but amidst the blood, a sweet, strangely comforting and kind of milky scent of made itself known and my stomach settled.

"Main cages? I swear the map said-"

"_If_ I believed in god, I'd say this was a blessing from him." A blonde woman entered from another door in a skintight diver suit.

The lights turned on, making me face the metal monstrosity's head a few feet from me. An ugly purple giant robot most would think. I knew better. That thing was _alive_, even if not _whole_, and it was the same type (maybe a _TYPE_ even), of the one out there.

"This is the humanity's last resort, the Evangelion." The blonde get between me and the alien (machine?), and stared at me so closely that I thought she was trying to structurally analyze me.

"I think you're scaring him, Ritsuko." Misato joked.

"Let me guess: You guys want me to pilot it and kill that thing out there?" I tried not to sigh. Zelrech, I _hate_ you.

The blonde looked up for a moment, but asked, and even the speaker commands to an unseen crew failed to hide her amusement. "What makes you think that?"

Misato strained to keep a straight face.

"Many things, but the Manual was kind of an obvious." I stared at the thing for a moment, trying to remain nonchalant. "If I was brought here for my safety, you wouldn't give me this," I shook the folder, "And if I was to work elsewhere, you would have taken me there already."

And another voice was heard.

"Yes, you are to pilot it." My eyes focused a bit higher of the metal railings, and in a room up in the wall.

Father. My other self nearly cried. I grimaced as my reinforced eyes caught his near contemptuous look at me. I might be dense, but I've saw similar expressions before: Shinji, Caster, Gilgamesh.

_You are not important_. Refuse, is too dangerous! _You're but a pawn_. There must be someone else more capable! _Insignificant_. How are you going to fight a thing YOU can barely hurt! _Useless_. My memories and cries from my just awakened local persona rose inside of me, calling for others long ago buried in my subconscious.

He didn't want to protect me. He didn't care about me.

I was but a pawn to him, probably called here for political reasons or as (useless) leverage against him.

Shut up! There are people dying out there, I will do something! "How do I do it?" I looked up once more.

My progenitor's (a person like that doesn't _deserve_ be called father) eyes narrowed in response to mine, but his expression remained eerily blank.

* * *

"Ok, This is not bad, but shouldn't this thing have a seatbelt?" I asked no one in particular.

"Don't worry, once we flood the plug, physical shocks will be the last of your worries." The voice from that blonde I met earlier, answered me on the speakers.

"Flood?" I couldn't help but worry, and my younger and high-pitched voice cracked one octave higher.

"Don't worry kid, we're not going to _drown_ you," her voice sounded almost amused "Once the LCL fills your lungs, it will supply oxygen to your lungs more effectively than air could." As she spoke, a reddish liquid started to fill the place and I did my best not to squirm.

* * *

Ristuko pressed the communicator once more. "Ok kid, now listen to me: The machine responds to both your mental commands and your physical ones. You should be getting visual now. Concentrate on simple things first, like walking."

"His synchro levels are stabilizing on 35,9%, wait, unknown interference detected, mental corruption registering _negative_ values!" Maya's voice cried in alarm. "What!?" Ritsuko nearly fell over the girl trying to get a better look.

* * *

I woke up in the familiar visage of that Hill of Swords. The endless dawn was recomfortingly familiar, but some things were… off. Different. Large patches of grass over the place, many tall rocks rising from the ground and a cliff to the south, the reflex of the sun on the water on the distance, and a sweet smell on the previously inexistent wind…

I summed it up in one nice phrase: "_What the hell_?!" Are these dimensional shifts were seriously messing up with my _soul_?! Why I'm even here?

Then I saw **it**. Appearing from head to feet, like a twisted reverse from a form rising from the ground. An existence so utterly **wrong** to my soul that it _hurt_. So human like, yet so **Alien**. **It** looked like one of those featureless anatomic models of science class, except for the hemispheric hole on **its** chest.

**It** roared, a distant parody of a human voice.

I answered. "Trace on." Kanshou and Bakuya were on my hands and primed to strike, I dashed aiming at **its** face.

Some light blocked my strike, and I kicked it, then taking advantage of one of the rocks to get solid footing.

**Its** eyes shone with unearthly light, and a slow moving (at least for _light_ standards) blast seared the grounds forming a cross.

Avoiding the blast I circled to** its** left flank. Kanshou was shot, angled to hit** its** spine and I dashed with Bakuya, but the barrier shone again deflecting both attacks, despite the fact the creature never turned** its** head.

I could see when muscles contracted, for **it** was much skin-less as it was faceless.** It** turned to me, and swiped** its** hands, forcing me to dodge back. Two copies of my faithful swords impaled the ground after bouncing on the shining barrier, and an idea came to me.

I notched Durandal on my just made bow. "Destroy that barrier!" And shot.

Immediately dismissing the bow, Kanshou and Bakuya again in my hands I struck again, and the thing moved weirdly, avoiding a slash that would have severed its arm off. I spun, retreating once more out of** its** immediate range, not without bringing the other blade to cut** its** leg deeply, red blood pouring of the wound and soaking the ground. Then with a crying sound, **it** manifested a spear that pierced trough my arm and the ground.

It was not normal pain. Normal pain I could take. That damned thing seared my _very soul_.

I moved, despite the damage of my mangled arm. Calling one weapon I was sure to be effective even on my nearly dis-armed state, I struck forward aiming for** its** center of mass, ignoring the shivers the red spear brought to my body (_soul_?).

"Gaé Bolg!"

**It** roared as the strike pierced** its** chest, and advanced forward. The spear tip perforated **its** back, and one of** its** hands grabbed me by the shirt.

I dashed back, regardless of the surprise resistance offered by my shirt being ripped, avoiding a second impalement by light spears by scant centimeters. Kanshou was made and thrown, Bakuya in my hands a moment later.

A loose rock and a patch of grass, and I was on the floor.

**It** lunged, and I positioned the blade to rip** its** throat off. Bakuya's twin pierced **its** back, but and instead of ripping me off, **it** embraced me with surprising strength.

Pressure build up, I was sure my ears were bleeding.

Then there was _light_. Light and searing _pain_.

* * *

…main control room, a few moments before the battle…

"What do you mean unknown interference!? Is the Eva _rejecting_ him?!"

"Magi are detecting and isolating the phenomenon, the pilot was assigned as Pattern Orange. Eva Pattern still marked as Blue." Another technician's voice called from a terminal.

"What?! Pattern Orange?! This is ridiculous! Humans can't get a pattern other than Red!"

"Shut you mouths, turn off the sound alerts, and put the battle surveillance on the main screen." Gendo Ikari's unmistakable voice silenced all protests.

The screen shifted to a view from one of the mountainside observation cameras. The Eva stood immobile for an instant, and the angel didn't react to its presence.

Then the very world changed.

The AT field measuring patterns shot through the roof, and the air shimmered with its ethereal light. It spread out and molded, forming ghost-like silhouettes of hills, rocks and blades.

Innumerable, uncountable, _Unlimited_ Blades.

The Eva awoke as if surprised with something, looking around confused by a moment. So did the angel. It's AT field spread too, trying to counter the projected field of the machine. The hills shimmered, but stood in their fragile, ethereal-like solidity.

Misato's voice summed it up nicely: "What the hell is _that_!"

Hell indeed. Hell broke loose and the Eva slowly moved, as if a movie was played in slow motion, fought and defeated the Angel that also moved as if underwater, conjuring weapons little more solid than the shimmering scenario.

The screen turned off. Not the command center one, but the one showing me the high definition surveillance video…

Ritsuko looked at my face and raised an eyebrow. I don't blame her. If half of my surprise is showing right now, I must be rivaling a corpse in my pallor.

"I suppose you don't have an explanation for _that_?"

"Not really, well, you said yourself I was _unconscious_." Not exactly a lie. I didn't think I'd be capable of doing something like _that_. I am not able to fully materialize my Reality Marble in it's external form, and I wasn't _exactly_ conscious at the time…

"I never saw an unconscious person pilot like _that_." She shot a pointed look at the screen.

"…"

"What was_ that_?!"

"Zelrech's fault." I repeated. Not like she would understand anyway.

"The guy of the overlapping realities theory?" She made a sour face. "How so?"

I fell out of the bed. She kept waiting for an answer.

"I just blamed a weird name I read up in the library." I shot out.

"Stop wasting my time."

"Okay…"I propped myself into a sitting position again, and took a deep breath: "All that I remember is dreaming of a these hills with lots of weapons and some sort of cross between a badly proportioned anatomic model and a corpse. Apparently all I did there transferred to the purple robot, if not that well." I summed it up, keeping a few key points to myself. If she know Zelrech she might know what a _Reality Marble_ is, and I'm not touching the subject with a _hundred_ feet pole if at all.

"The Evangelion is not a robot. Robots only do what you command them to. Push a lever it moves a leg, and so on so forth. You_ synchronize_ with an Eva, which is why we have certain safeties in place, like mental contamination filters. Without then Eva mind and soul would override or even _overwrite_ the pilot's. That is one of the reasons not _anyone_ can do it." She pointed a finger up, and I found myself overlapping her image with Rin for a moment. "With me so far?"

"Somewhat." I tried to break the information down in smaller bits. "What was that shimmering thing?"

"The AT Field? Basically is the capability of using one's own soul to alter the world around. The Angel you fought used a negation field to resist a N2 mine dropped point blank."

It took me a few seconds to process that information, and when I did I blanched again. "Okay, so you're saying these things are using _Reality Marbles_ against us?!" Okay, maybe I am touching the subject after all...

"So you did read his book." She smiled at me for the first time of the day. "Is a tad outdated and uses obsolete terms but is a good start."

"I don't remember most of it though…" I still felt most horrified at the notion of _giant_, _savage_ _**aliens**_ _weaponizing_ primitive if _powerful_ _**Reality Marbles**_ back and forth.

"Well, I'd lend you a few books later… Ask Misato to drop my lab before you leave." With that she left and a few technicians collected the screen.

"Smart, quite a fighter if you can dish a thrashing like that while _half _conscious, but still polite and gentle… If you're a good cook I'd _marry_ you!" Misato chirped from the door.

I made a point to keep my face blank. Root no. Not _again_. "Sorry, I didn't hear you, I was still processing what she told me."

"Ah, Ritz does that to you. Never mind, come with me."

* * *

"Where exactly we're going?"

"I want to show you something." She flashed me a dazzling smile. "And to thank you. You might not know, but you saved the city today, maybe the entire world." She stopped in front of one patient's windows and motioned for me to look.

She was a pale, albino young girl, and the only indication of her living state was her light breathing. One arm in a cast, bandages on her head and the visible eye, others on her neck disappearing below the covers.

"Her name is Rei." Misato said softly. "She is the first pilot, and had you refused to sortie, we would have been forced to send her… She might have won, she is quite a determined girl, but I fear she would have not _survived_…"

I saved her. I really did. The very idea brought tears of happiness to my eyes, and I felt that on this small moment, I could once more grasp a tiny part of what father felt on that day long ago.

"Let's go home." She put a soft hand on my face to clean the tears.

"Okay."

* * *

"Misato-san?"

"Hnm? Just Misato is fine." She didn't looked at me, but frankly, considering our current speed I felt that is for the better.

"Where are we going?"

"Home. I got permission for you to live with me."

"What do you mean _living with you_?" My voice was a bit higher pitched that I intended. Maybe it was because my voice was still cracking from my current age changes, but I think it was mostly my nervousness.

"Well, Ritz said you needed surveillance, and you have said yourself: You're only well behaved when there are people watching." The voluptuous black-haired woman chucked. "Besides, If wasn't me, it would be a bunch of Section 2 agents, so I thought this would be for the best."

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Zelrech, I HATE you.


	3. - Lovely, Troubled Nights -

I was very relieved once I discovered I had jumped universes again. No more Alien Bio-Weapons wielding Reality Marbles against similarly armed abominations from outer space, no more tsundere and yandere girls fighting for my attention, and no half clones of my mother with a traumatized past and unhealthy appreciation for close contact.

I'm _FREE_!

…Well, _almost_.

"Come on Onii-chan, get out of the shower! I have to wash my hair before school!" A soft voice so unlike Yukari said from outside the bathroom.

Mikan, my mind supplied helpfully. Yukari is still my sister, but Mikan (my new guardian angel!) manages to keep her _mostly_ under control.

"Leaving in a sec." I answered loudly enough for her to hear me from outside, and tried to make my hair look… less of a mess.

Seriously, I could be a Shounen protagonist of one of those Monkey-Alien mangas with the spikes I have grown up in my head. Not that my hair was ever tame (I do remember Rin complaining a lot about it at least), but this persona of mine takes the cake.

Capillary problems aside, I'm also back to highschool, after a universe where I managed to get a master's degree in both civil and mechanic engineering, and also in _almost_ supernatural subjects of Metaphysical Biology.

Normal school is bound to be _boring_.

I leave the bathroom after dressing myself, and my short sister takes my place, leaving me alone with Yukari, who was thankfully entertained by reading a bunch of stapled papers, that my mind recognized as my father's manuscripts.

Yes, Minaka Hiroto drawing manga. At least his lunatic ideas make much more success (and way less property damage) when they _stay_ on paper.

Still, the tales of a boy who got a harem of lustful aliens who fight in a tournament sponsored by a big evil corporation commanded by a madman… I'd _laugh_ at the absurdity of it, if I hadn't been in such a plot myself.

"Ohi-fhan, fanha fafe a fooh?" Yukari, toast in mouth, offered the offending piece of paper depicting a half-naked Tsukimi (a blonde water user, maybe by coincidence) being scolded by Miwa, the owner and administrator of their living place (forget coincidences, this feels so-o weird…), by indecent exposure of her big, well detailed assets.

I blinked at the paper.

Yukari looked at the page and at me, swallowing the piece of buttered bread in a single bite. "What's wrong, Mina-oniichan?"

"Nothing." I promptly started eating my own toast, ignoring the explicit piece of literature so like my own memories of the distant past.

"Mmm, I see…" Yukari scratched her chin smirking thoughtfully. "Fantasizing about Tsukimi-chan's breasts… Ain't my brother a naughty boy?" Then she threw her hand on her head and mock cried. "Then, when we are alone, my onii-sama, incapable of containing his lustful instincts, will pin my delicate body to my bed and ravage me until I am unable to walk st-"

"Stop saying nonsense…" Mikan delivered deadpan, interrupting her tirade, using the very same piece of decency offending paper to deliver the strike. "…and eat before you're late to school."

Her tone was so Takami-like at times that it was scary…

We ate, Yukari made me choke with another completely inappropriate joke, and we left to school, Mikan taking her own way a block later.

Then we met _another_ girl.

Haruna Sairenji, my mind supplied, and I felt something stir inside of my chest. I wouldn't know _why_, if you ask me. I could be some sort of soul resonance feedback from local self, it could be love at the first sight, it could be some sort of cardiac condition, or even another completely unexplained coincidence…

But my heart skipped a beat when I looked at her face.

And again when she smiled at me, saying a no more than a polite good morning.

"You got it bad onii-chan…" My middle sister hanged her arm at my shoulder and whispered into my ear in a sing-song tone.

* * *

"School was really boring. And I couldn't stop thinking about Haruna. I wanted to, _really_. I feel dirty think of yet _another_ girl, and especially one I just met today."

"I hope this issue settles in time, because otherwise I'm going crazy!"

"It didn't help that my mind seemed to be working against me, taking seemingly innocent phrasings in a perverted way, or that one time the girl bended forward as some sort of provocative posing to loop in my mind's eye…"

"If this is how I was supposed to be by growing with my family, I think I'm _grateful_ for the Fuyuki fire for the first time in my life!"

"I mean… This is just _wrong_!"

I looked at the companion and confidant I was talking to, a sword I projected just to this end.

Well, _sentient_ steel and all. It must count for _something_, right? Besides, I'm sure as hell not saying this kind of stuff to any of my sisters, no sir!

And it helps, somewhat, to say these things out loud.

Not so loud though, especially not with only the layer wood of the roof between my sisters and me.

"Oniichan! Bath is free!" Yukari's voice called me from my room's door.

"I'm going!"

Jumping down on the small balcony of my room, I left to the bath, glancing back for a moment to the night sky out of my window.

I saw a shooting star cross the endless blue for a brief instant.

"If I was to wish, I'd wish something to take those thoughts out of my head." I snorted.

* * *

_**KALEIDOSCOPE - PART TWO - LOVELY, TROUBLED NIGHTS**_

_**PROLOGUE - THE SHOOTING STAR**_

* * *

I got my wish, alright. It didn't even take long, I had finished washing myself and was soaking on the tub, when a flash of light made a girl appear on top of me, naked as a jaybird.

I blinked, then looked her up and down. Nope, _still_ naked.

I touched her. On the shoulder!

Not a hallucination either.

"Oni-chan, I'm putting your clothes on the wash-" Yukari's head popped on the door, and her eyes grew to the size of marbles.

"Sorry to bothe~er, pretend I'm not here." She sing-songed, then sat cross-legged in the floor, not even bothering to hide herself from us, and giving us her undivided attention.

"Yukari?"

"Hmm." She purred. "Go ahead, I'm not here."

"Urk." I turned to look at the girl in front of me, who was sitting at the edge of the tub without a single care in the world.

"Hello earthlings, I'm Lala. I came from the planet deviluke." The newcomer waved happily, unashamed of her state of undress.

"Earthlings?" I parroted, discreetly sniffing the air.

Yep. Not human. Not an _Angel_ though.

Her eyes met my stare (that I made sure was _above_ her shoulder level). "How was it… Oh!" Her fist met her palm, then she raised her hand at the side of her face, and she assumed a semi-serious expression, brows furrowed in concentration. "I came in peace!"

I snorted.

Yukari was still stunned, but she recovered quickly, laughing at the whole scene like it was some sort of joke. Maybe she _thought_ it was?

Then she froze.

"What?" I asked, before she tackled the Lala girl, grabbing something at backside level.

Lala moaned, and I got the first look at what caught her attention…

A _tail_.

A _spade shaped _tail.

A _sexually sensitive_ spade shaped tail.

Like that one from… "OH SHIT!" I grabbed Yukari and ran away, uncaring of my nudity, closing the door between us and throwing my sister in her own room.

Maybe I have some time before this Lala girl come after me, so I can put some hard to take off clothing and preferably made up of wind resistant material…

"Why did you run?" I froze at the voice right behind me, readying myself for the inevitable, shaming event that was sure to occur.

"Go easy on me?" I pleaded, unable to keep my voice in the lower pitches.

"Sure, but why?" She _almost_ looked innocently swinging her legs where she sat on my bed.

"You're not going to harass me?" I kept my gaze on the offending appendage that was swaying lightly back and forth.

"Harass?" Her face brightened in understanding. "So someone from my planet you met before treated you badly? Just tell me how he looked like and I'll make sure he regrets!"

I blinked at her answer. Maybe the lack of shame and tail aside, her race is not like Alma Elma and the other succubus.

"Just checking, but you don't happen to have wings do you?"

"Hmm, I can make them, but no, I don't have them." She tilted her head cutely at my question.

"Oni-chan Yukari was saying some nonsense-" Mikan froze, and I remembered that not only Lala, but I was still undressed.

"See, I told you!" Yukari said haughtily behind my youngest sister.

"Lala-sama!" Another voice called from the window, and I stopped from tracing a couple of blades when she embraced the flying plush toy (yes, _talking flying plush toy_.)

Apparently the thing wasn't alone.

Two man, no _Aliens_ in suits stepped into the room, saying some nonsense about capturing Lala, and the girl (alien, but she was _definitely_ a girl), cried for help.

In a trick stolen from Archer, a dozen two handed swords measuring nearly 2 meters made a wall between us, and then mimicking Gilgamesh, half a dozen more hovered around me menacingly.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you understand that I feel _slightly_ threatened when you invade my home and try to kidnap a girl I had just met _right_ in front of me." My face darkened in a smile I stole from Miya. "You wouldn't happen to know, but threatening my family or guests…" Displeased, unsatisfied and _angry_ Miya. **"…Is FORBIDDEN!"** Darkness manifested itself, and I continued undeterred, lightening my own features.

"Knowing better by now, you _wouldn't _continue, would you?"

They shook their heads.

"Well them." I smiled. "**Out.**" And flashed the darkness again for effect.

They left.

"Onii-chan…" Mikan and Yukari shivered on the floor, and I could see small stains on their clothing. Maybe I overdid it?

Lala didn't seem so fazed: "That was AMAZING! Can you teach me that? Please, please?" She clinged to me, and I quickly took notice of our state of undress once more.

I sighed, already knowing where this was going…"Can we get dressed before?"


	4. - Sky's Castle Nights -

I suppose destiny was the only one to blame for my current predicament. Besides Zelrech that is.

I swear I can hear the bastard laughing every time I interact with something remotely female and attractive. But that is beside the point. But I'm relieved to be in a place remotely normal after leaving that damned world out of a Sengoku period novel and dealing with that madman who couldn't keep his hands to himself, or that other place where I became a girl and had to fight for my own modesty (not to mention the world where I met Alice and… not going there.). No, I'm somewhat happy that, in this world at least, monsters are out to kill me and _just_ that.

Now for where _exactly_ I am, well, this is slightly more complicated to explain…

In this specific version of my world (as, the _normal_ world I live), I _was_ saved by Kiritsugu, but my mother remembered to ask for my nickname too, thus I ended growing up with my biological family. So while I am essentially the same person, my areas of interest are a bit off…

Anime, manga and games, lots of games. My room walls were covered by posters, I had rows and rows of figurines and anime merchandising, and a top spec gaming computer and all the latest gaming consoles…

My former self's newest acquisition however, was a testing technology designed to revolutionize the gaming industry. On the outside, it was one unassuming helmet, but somehow that incredible piece of tech allowed to the user to go _inside_ of the games and control a player like its own body. It was also the only game I truly enjoyed, as I was for once able experience the thrill of fighting in an environment where no one was at risk of getting hurt or dying.

"-iii-chan! Wake up! You're spacing out again!" My sister called from my side. Well, my sister's _character_ at least. Tall, red haired and with, how did that guy put it once? Huge… _tracks of land_, was it? Well, suffice to say it looked _nothing_ like her.

"Sorry Yukari. I was just thinking about how weird it feels knowing I'm a polygonal character. Not to mention this body feels… _off_." I looked at my black armor and falchion blade. Pity I couldn't use two… yet.

"Ah! _That_!" Yukari blushed. "The admins released a patch that will fix your lack of… _thing_ this night. Lots of complaints were popping on the forums earlier." She swung her mace again at one of the wolf monsters we have being killing the entire afternoon. My face nearly caught fire at her exclamation and one of the grey beasts jumped me and started chewing my main arm bracelet. I quickly swapped my sword for the other hand and swung it like an executioner, the red glowing blade killing the -Grey Wolf- in a single hit.

"If this is the incomplete system, I can barely wait for the final version!" I laughed and jumped over another wolf reversing the grip on my blade and bringing down with all my weight to pierce its hindquarters. It just didn't work as well as it should, his life barely decreasing by a sliver.

"Yeah! Me too!" Yukari cheered. "Especially if they implement the features I saw on those rumors!" My sister giggled maniacally while bashing one wolf head into a scenery rock.

She must be talking about the 'Player Interaction Engine' that would allow us to duel, among other things. "Yeah, I'd love to try that." I nodded, looking for other wolves on the area.

"Oni-chan?" my younger sister tackled me to the ground (it was quite effective here inside, so she did that a lot) with tears on her eyes… "You… promise?" Apparently the action was unexpected enough to give pause to the mobs, because they didn't jumped at our throats immediately.

"Yeah, I promise." I patted her in the head.

_Then_ we were mobbed by the damned dogs.

* * *

_**KALEIDOSCOPE - PART THREE - SKY CASTLE'S NIGHTS**_

_**PROLOGUE - DEATH GAME**_

* * *

"I'm sorry Onii-chan." Yukari looked at her feet.

"Nah. It happens. Now let's log out to dinner, it's almost 8PM. Then we log in again." Besides, it's just a game.

"HAI!" She cheered.

… Four Months Later …

Today was the day. SAO was finally being released officially! They have announced improvements in the Physics system, even if I barely felt any differences in the mechanics of my body inside and outside the system (except for the lack of pain when receiving attacks _obviously_).

I left school and hurried home along with Yukari, and we almost trampled nanny (yes we have one as mom was probably locked in some lab developing either Sekirei or medicine in this universe,) on the entrance doors, to which she shouted indignantly:

"AT LEAST EAT SOMETHING BEFORE GAMING DAMMIT! AND DON'T RUN ON THE STAIRS!" I slowed down, or tried, for Yukari was holding my hand and sped forward without mercy.

We bolted to our rooms, and I put the Somethin'gear (or whatever it was called), diving into the game.

* * *

I pondered before choosing my initial skills, but kept my appearance close to my real self somewhat. I also used the name Shirou, as opposed to Minato, whose is my real name outside. Yukari already knew my character's name, and also decided to use Yuki, the same she used in the beta.

Looking to my polygonal body I felt a considerable amount of surprise. It felt quite real, and very comfortable unlike the beta version, which delayed my reactions somewhat.

"Wow. The system really improved."

"Of course, baka oni-chan!" A melodious voice called from my side.

As I looked to it, I felt my eye twitch. Long black hair, almost my height, and the absurd breast size again. "Yu-"

"Yuki." She cut me sharply, as I almost slipped into bad manners again. Her name here _is_ Yuki, my mind remind me too late.

"Yeah… Yuki. Was this really _necessary_?" I shot a discrete but pointed look to her.

"Necessary? No." She smiled a mischievous smile (that reminded of someone or something I couldn't really recall), and cupped her attributes while bouncing on the balls of her feet. "_Fun_? Yes!"

"Sure." I deadpanned. "Race to the dungeon?" I changed gears with a smile of my own.

"Hell yeah!" She cheered and dashed forward.

* * *

"Nii-chan, you're doing it wrong!" She chided me again and then bashed a 'Raging Bee' with her shield, following with a downward sword strike.

"No I'm doing it _my way_. There is a difference." I shot back evading a charge and leaving my off-hand sword in the way of the insect. It caused a ridiculously small amount of damage.

"But you're not causing any damage doing this onii-chan!" She chided me once more. "I told you already, ditch the other sword for a shield like me, or just pick a bigger one!"

"For the last time Yuki: **No**. I want to use _both_. And bigger _isn't_ always better." Someone mentioned the possibility of styles that no one tried before, and if the programmers were really good I bet there are dual wielding advanced styles, like Duarmuid twin spears or my twin dao style inherited from Archer. There _has_ to be a way of using two, and if there is not, I'll _create_ one by making the system learn. I feel _incomplete_ without two blades.

I dash in the attack range again, and this time I discard my left blade and try the unwieldy system-assisted downward strike. It goes without a hitch, but such a thing is so predictable that is boring. That and while the possibilities in striking are quite realistic, they're not compatible with my style, so I revert to my usual (and inefficient here) forms if not paying enough attention.

Maybe if I pick some different weapon? If it's far enough from swords my body might not try to automatically reproduce my style with it…

I threw my sword on another wasp, and rolled to pick the one I discarded before. Once again it caused negligible damage, but distracted the monster for my sister use a upward strike and finish it off. Almost at the same time, I struck the one in front of me with the 'Dash' skill. It predictably died too, as its health was below the half mark.

As the very last of the 'Raging Bees' were destroyed, and I picked my thrown blade, the traditional chime plus message of dropped 'Coll' or money, and one cooking ingredient, 'Common Honey' was heard.

"Well, let's go use this before it wastes!" I cheer. Be it virtual or real, cooking time is always welcome.

"Use what?" My sister demanded and I showed her my item window. "_Nonono_! We have quite some monsters to defeat if we expect reaching level 3 today mister!" She promptly dragged me on the opposite direction of the town.

Another chime interrupted whatever she would say after, and our system windows appeared with a 'System Announcement' message. Before we could even read it, we were teleported back to the central square of the 'Starting City'.

"See? All your effort for nothing! Even the _system_ wants me to co-" Whatever I was saying was cut as the sky (or rather this level's ceiling/next level's floor) was covered in angry red error messages (which remembered me from those I got when messing with Matsu's doohickey long ago) that I had to squint to read, followed by a black hood wearing thing (doesn't count as a person if the hood is _empty_, right?) appeared, making an open arms gesture that caused the image of my… _progenitor's_ Minaka to overlap with it.

The very idea they could be alike send shivers down my spine. It_ couldn't_ be true, could it?

Yes, apparently it _could_. And it was true.

As the empty hood, no Kayaba Akihito, disappeared from the sky, my mind still reeled from the implications of what he has said.

No one could 'Log Out'. No one can 'Respawn' if dead. Die here, and the 'HeadGear' will fry your brain. Someone from outside try to take you out and the 'HeadGear' will fry your brain.

Dammit!

No!

Impossible!

Why does everything I get involved end in a dead match tournament?! How could the very creator of this system corrupt such a marvelous idea in such a hideous, _evil_ way?

"Oni-chan?" Yukari's voice was small, and for all her usual cheerfulness she was clearly scared.

"I hope you're listening Kayaba Akihito. I'm going to beat this deathtrap, then I'm going to find you, and then I'm going to drag you, a whatevergear and some torture implements to Matsu and promise to do the most lewd thing I experienced in the Monster Worlds to her if she makes you die from sheer trauma…" I was unable to refrain to speak out loud, still trembling in rage.

"Yukari." Said girl raised her head as her name was called. "Stay safe and in the city. I'm going to clear this game and free us."

"…"

"Huh?"

"BAKA ONII-CHAN!" Of course within the boundaries of the city, I was still considered an 'Immortal Object' and it's not like we feel pain, but seeing Yukari hit me with such force, I couldn't help but cringe.

She definitely took _that skill_ from mom.

"I'm going with you, and nothing you say is going to make me back down!" She stomped her foot _on mine_ for emphasis, and I was once more thankful for being inside of a city and in the game.

"Now let's get to another city before someone else does!" She started dragging me around once more.

"What? Wait! Let's first help the other players! Look that child is _crying_!" My pleas fell on deaf ears, and having a lower strength attribute than her, she pulled me by the collar of my shirt quite easily.

I miss Shiina for a series of reasons (like masculine company within the flock of girls), but this is the main one: He _liked_ to be dragged around by Yukari (or at least he said so), thus keeping me from have this… _honor_.

"Onii-chan! We have to get to other town! There's too much people to compete with here!"

"We're not competing with anyone, Yuka-"

*patah!* She slapped me again making my vision flash purple. "Yuki." She corrected me.

"Whatever." I sighed. "We all want the same thing: get out. So we need to beat the game right? Why don't we work toghe-" I stepped back this time, and she over swung her palm and had to stop to get her bearings. "…Together so we can beat the game faster?"

"Baka onii-chan!" She stomped my foot once more, showing the 'Immortal Object' message again. "There aren't that many weapons and items for everyone! Its first come and first served like in any MMO!"

I sweatdropped. Not only we have to beat the game to get out, without dying, no less, but we also have to compete with other players for resources.

"Looks like you understand. Now let's go before the sun sets." She seemed satisfied at my sudden seriousness.


	5. Starless Night

_**CHAPTHER 1 - STARLESS NIGHT**_

* * *

One month have passed since the game started.

*klinkt*

In the end I convinced Yuki to stay for a while in the 'Starting City', and we had to deal with the after panic and fierce competition for the first five days. As soon as the things settled though, she pulled me into a maniac level grinding through the first floor area, until I reached my seventh level.

*klingt*

Together, I and Yuki have saved more or less two dozen people in the first week, yet two thousand have died, in ways I couldn't predict or stop.

*kilngt*

I am currently level 8. Yuki is 9. We're living in the town at the smallest distance from the 'First Floor Maze', the place that holds the stairs for the second floor.

klingt*

"Oniii-chan! Are you ready yet? You've been hammering that thing for ages!" My sister complained.

*klingt*

"I told you to let me practice my Blacksmithing skills more, but you said we didn't have the time… now it takes more time for me to make weapons, deal with it!" I shot back. "Besides, we're free until the meeting and that's only at four o'clock!"

*klingt*

"Fine! I'm going to grind a bit by myself!"

*klingt*

"What!? Wait!"

*kilngt*

I stop myself from following. I spend every last 'coll' I had into these materials, and sold all my equipment too. If I go after her, I'll put her in danger instead of helping. Besides, knowing my sister, if I follow, she will get angry and try to run away for a probably more _dangerous_ area.

*klingt*

Just more 13 strikes…

*klingt*

I wonder if I should attempt to use reinforcement in it. Or any magic at all. I doubt anyone had pre-programed magic in SAO's interface, or if magecraft would find a way to get in by force…

*klingt*

* * *

'Baka Onii-chan! Why don't he simply kill mobs until they drop a stronger weapon? It works for me.'

'Speaking of mobs, a -Leader Wolf-! 90 walking experience points with an attack pattern I know like the palm of my hand!'

I draw my mace and shield, and activate -Smasher-, the simplest skill of the mace category, and shout to draw the wolf's attention.

"HEY FURBALL! COME TAKE A BITE FROM ME~E!"

I doubt the system makes it understand those words, but I find it funny to say. As I expected it uses a frontal charge, which I sidestep and drop the mace on its head forcing a critical hit.

I never imagined I was going to be attacked from behind.

Another wolf jumps me, biting my shoulder and pinning me to the ground. My HP drops by a sixth. A third one keeps circling and looking for an opening. I roll, and put my shield between me and them. They jump me at the same time, and I activate -Smash- once more. The bluish flash sails through the air in a circular motion and killing the -Leader Wolf- instantly. My shield blocks the second, but the third one, bites my hand and keeps it immobilized. I can't attack. The other wolf is circling to my unprotected side, and my HP is down to a fourth. Damn!

Then he appeared. Clad in black and blue, he killed the -Raging Wolf- holding my arm in a single strike. We both attacked the other together and it vanished in a shower of polygons.

"That was close." He sighed. "Are you alright? Or better yet, what are you doing here by yourself?"

"Ah, eeehh." I felt my cheeks burn. Damn me and my weak spot for bishounen guys. "I'm alright."

* * *

_…Back with Shirou, a bit earlier…_

*kilkt*

*plink* a different sound echoed in my ears. "It's finally complete!" I sigh in satisfaction. While that is not Kanshou and Bakuya, both newly named -Nightblade- and the previously forged -Silver Flash- are fairly good blades for this portion of the game, and more importantly, their weight and feel are close enough to let me use my familiar techniques without a flaw.

Let it unsaid that they're also close enough in color scheme that I at least have something familiar after jumping through at least a dozen different universes. Unfortunately they feel a bit on the simple side on the design, but that is to be expected from low level blades.

I put both at the crossed sheaths in the back of my waist, and click the error message that appears, marking the 'never show again' checkbox that Yuki told me earlier.

Speaking of her, I look at my clock and sigh. 15:28. She couldn't be that far in five minutes. Well, nothing to do but search...

* * *

_…with said girl, on the central square…_

"So you put the cream on the bread to make it better?" She looked at the duo, or would it be couple? "Onii-chan baked jam already."

"Jam? So your brother is a cook? How stupid! How does he intend to survive?" The hooded girl's face twisted in annoyance.

"Nah... he had a few levels in cooking before, and he keeps swapping it for blade forging or something." The mace-wielding girl smiled, "He is incredible with a curved sword. At least when he is not trying to wield two against the system..." muttering the last part.

Unfortunately the dark haired boy from earlier caught that last statement. "_Against_ the system!?"

"Nii-san is a bit stubborn." I was going to shout at me for mocking my onii-san, but when he smiled awkwardly I could only blush in response.

"Yuki?" Another voice called in their general direction and all of them turned to it, meeting at the tall redhead that entered the square, but when she called him 'oni-chan' the dark haired boy spoke "You two don't look much alike."

"I get that a lot." Shirou shrugged.

"What got in your head for you to leave alone to god knows where? I know you're strong, but…" the redhead sat along us on the small wall of the flower bed.

"Hi everyone, gather here!" Someone called, and a clanging sound echoed through the place interrupting our talk.

On the fountain, a man stood in full armor except for the helmet, banging the side of his swords on his shield. "Come on, come closer!" He bellowed, and people nearby started gathering at his voice.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Diabel the Knight! The reason I've requested you all to gather here is that my party have found this level's maze last stairs. Tomorrow or the day after that we will find the boss room."

Everyone had his attention fixated on the man at that. He was handsome to the point of impossibility, and his armor shone in the afternoon sun make him look like he was made of shining gold. "I have come to invite all of you to take part in this milestone of the conquest of this castle. Together, we can prove to those despairing on the 'Starting City' that there is a way out!"

"YEAH!" I cheered, and most of the people on the place were shouting too.

"Wait a minute, Knight-san." One voice called amidst the crowd.

"Yes," The self-proclaimed knight nodded. "You can certainly give your opinion, but please come here and present yourself so we can hear you properly."

The newcomer advanced until he reached the fountain, and his most prominent feature was certainly his hairstyle that resembled a spiked ball shaped mace.

"I am Kibaou, and I have to demand justice. There are for sure five or more people here who need to apologize."

"Apologize?" the knight repeated as if tasting the word.

"The beta testers had lots of information and knew where to find the best resources, but as they said nothing, people died!" the cactus head pressed as fiercely as he could.

In that moment Onii-san moved forward. "Sure, the beta testers had information. But before you blame them for being selfish aren't you selfish too? You let people behind to go first in the frontlines and gather top quality equipment." Some nodded to that argument. Kibaou actually took a step back, since he left the city as soon as possible to not get engulfed by the panicking crowds.

But instead of taking it back, he rebuffed his guilt with more accusations "Of course you would defend yourself! You must be a beta too! The blood of our comrades demands yours, for your selfish actions!" The spiked roared ferociously.

"Shirou is not selfish! He saved my life!" One armored warrior with a spear shouted indignantly.

"Selfish? Him!?" One guy I remember from starting city pointed to my brother as if showing him off "When others fled and panicked he stood on the middle of the city and organized people. He ran through the fields non-stop searching for people fighting alone, and dragged them into groups for safety! Heck I heard he prevented a panicking idiot from jumping of the edge of the floor!" Another voice called.

Shirou-san scratched his cheek embarrassed.

"See? Beta testers or not, there are good and bad people. Hell, you sure know about that rat fellow that make and distribute guides of the risky areas of the floor." A tall, muscled, bald and black guy said seriously. "Demanding an apology from people that are not guilty is not only stupid, but infantile."

"Enough." Diabel hit his shield again like a judge and the discussion cleared.

"We have beta testers among us. That is actually good." He opened his arms to the crowd. "It proves that amongst the testers there are good and responsible people. They have information on the maze's creatures, and the boss attack patterns. As such I ask that we welcome them as a valuable asset on the oncoming battle. With this, we can complete the boss battle with minimum, no, with **zero** casualties!" The players cheered in agreement.

"Now that is how we will go about the boss: we form two tank parties…"

* * *

Kirito, for a moment, envied that red head's courage. Ignoring the risks he exposed himself and turned the tables on the angry fellow. 'That guy is certainly something', he thought.

Then he was invited into a party and discovered himself with the very people he was curious about: The heroic redheaded puzzle, the reckless mace-wielder, and the suicidal fencer, with her god-like -Linear- skill.

He couldn't help but smile. At least it would be interesting.

* * *

_…Next Morning…_

One of the advantages of travelling in large groups is that you can get everywhere faster. Sure, the -Agility- focused player's like me had to wait for the slower ones, but still, the time we saved by quickly dispatching the monsters easily surpassed that.

Thus we reached the boss room a little under two hours after we left the city.

"I ask you guys to fight hard, but watch yourselves too! Now let's go and _win_!" Diabel used his shield like a gong once more, and the other players with shields copied the motion producing a cacophony of metal and roars.

My grip tightened on both swords, as he and other players pushed the doors open.

A large and dim throne room welcomed us, with two rows of pillars and the familiar face of the red dog-faced man-lizard creature with his eerie red eyes. The place was suddenly illuminated as the monster stood up, two armored guards at his both sides.

They charged, and we met them halfway.

My first instinct was evade low, but there was another player right behind me, and the strike would probably surprise him, so I raised both blades using the right one to deflect his strike while the left one struck his unprotected neck from behind. The damage mas small, even with the forced critical I got, but the helmeted creature stumbled to meet the spear strike of my unexpected companion.

"GJ!" he said, and his thumb flashed up. I still don't get most of the most complex expressions of online gaming subculture, but this one was unmistakable, so I waved my own sword at him and dashed to the next and signaled him with a shout of "Strike Him Down!" and jumped sideways without attacking. Of course the AI followed me, as in game, opposed to real life I got a cursor with the enemy's name and health bar as long as I focus him, and one red arrow over as long as he is focusing me.

Wish I had these by the time I hunted Dead Apostles for the Clock Tower. I'd have two or three scars less.

The -Kobold Sentinel- disappeared in a shower of polygons, as the spearman at my side struck its turned back with his skill again. At my left, a combined strike of Yuki and that Asuna girl destroyed the third.

I focused on the boss to see that he still had half of his first lifebar left, and at the -Switch- signal I jumped in the frontlines.

"Quite eager, don't you reddie?" The black axe wielder asked at my left. Trying a swing at the monster's leg.

I shrug, and dash sideways to take a chop at the boss' sword arm when he struck the ground with his weapon.

"Switch!" I heard Yuki call, and she struck with -Sweep- right after I rolled backwards. Stopping to a crouch, and quickly assessing the situation, I notice that with the successive strikes, the boss's first life bar was vanishing.

"Second wave! Be careful!" Diabel's voice shouted over the sounds of metal and grunts of exertion.

I pair with the nearest person to face the next wave of sentinels. It happened to be Kirito, the guy who saved my sister the day before.

"I don't cause much damage, so I'll put the sentinels in position for you to finish them off." I said, and he nodded.

As soon as the first appeared I rushed to it and swung downwards hitting its shoulder to catch its attention. The creature responded with a wild swing of the mace that stretched my elasticity to its limit, and I took advantage of the large weapon's momentum to slash below the monster's stretched arm.

It should be noted that most of my strikes would be lethal to a living person, but thanks to the fact that I can't use skills that easily (especially while fighting with two blades), most of my attacks cause low to medium damage, and that is just because this engine actually detect my strikes as -Critical Hits-.

With my partner finishing the sentinel I quickly scanned the area for more enemies, and finding none took a moment to breath.

"That was an impressive movement." My comrade commented. "Why haven't you used a skill though? The opening was enough, right?"

"Ah, that's not it. I'm not used to this style yet, so I just strike wildly until I get an opening large enough for me to switch to a system assisted move."

"You mean that strike just now…" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Yep. That was just me." I scratched my head with the pommel of my left blade.

"Hey, lazy a*ses, more sentinels incoming. Get in position!" The sharp voice of Kibaou called us back to the real, erm… _virtual _world.

"Once more?" Kirito asked.

"Sure." I shot back.

Yuki dashed to my shoulder, as two sentinels were coming side by side this time. She bashed them with the shield, and I spun on my heels to get between them and reversing both blades hit both in the kidneys (well, if they had them at least). Spinning again, I hit their legs, and reversing the blades, their arms. Blue flash at my right, and yellow at my left, both monsters vanishing in a shower of polygons.

"The boss threw his weapons away!" One voice shouted.

"Just like -The Rat- said!"

"Get ready, he drew the sword!"

"Everyone get back! Tank party 1 forward!" Diabel called.

Then I looked at the boss' weapon closely. A straight chopper, not a talwar. More than just stylistic choice, sword types and skills in this world walk hand in hand, so the programmers no doubt changed the boss blade skills too.

"Everyone, get back now!" Kirito shouted.

The boss simply overswung his blade until it was held sideways facing outwards, but the worrisome sign that chilled everyone's spines was the ominous crimson shine that surrounded the blade.

Before I thought twice, I moved. Pushing two tankers back, I threw one sword at the boss head, hoping that it would be enough to stop the skill, but it bounced off the helmet's edge, embedding itself it the wall behind.

I held my blade sideways and pressed my open palm against it at the same time the monster released its technique.

The crimson flash pushed me back with a force that I could only compare to a DA I faced on Germany long ago. Slanting the blade upwards I redirected the force of the strike, and rolled backwards. Someone was calling my name, but my focus was on the blade right over the monster's head, swinging down at terminal velocity.

I rolled sideways, and threw my last sword in his now close and unprotected face.

To think that not only I would be fighting inside a fantasy game, but be handicapped for having to do it normally…

My hit struck home and the ugly lizard roared in virtual pain. Some others attacked it at this time, and during one of its wild counter attacks I caught sight of my first thrown sword.

Kirito was by my side, as well as Asuna, and Yuki was right behind me. The boss swung in diagonal pattern, and we scattered. I rolled, ducked and avoided being stomped on, until I had to dash and step on the very wall to avoid a potentially lethal strike.

I reached my blade shortly, and after and taking it, I ran non-stopping on that mad momentum stepping on the fat lizard's tail, then back at the wall, then I jumped as high as I could and then when virtual gravity was winning the battle I copied the only move I knew.

My blade was put parallel to my upper arm, then swung fiercely forward, my body remembering the -Reaver- basic curved sword skill.

I met a woman on my way to the floor. She had beautiful golden eyes, and auburn hair. I don't remember her taking part in the raid. The only girl that had ever come with us besides my sister was…oh. Asuna.

A dark flash also met me on my way down. Kirito. His sword swung without hesitation, still enveloped by that bluish aura that made me thing of a Magecraft I saw once among the enforcers.

That moment, only one thought crossed my mind.

Surely, for these people trapped in this castle, these two will be legends.

* * *

I must admit that guy is absurd. He just fought two Sentinels without the system assist. Precise motions like only an experienced fighter could do, and my very limited knowledge of human anatomy was enough to put those strikes in the dangerous category. I know a bit of Kendo and how to hold a sword, but to dual-wield a pair of blades like that...

It's just _too insane_...

Then the boss threw his weapons away and drew his talwar... No, _not_ a talwar, and spun shortly clockwise, at the same time a reddish light gathered on it.

SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT

"Everyone, get back now!" I screamed.

Then he dashed _forward_, and threw one of his blades without hesitation.

It missed by an inch, hitting the helmet, so it didn't stopped the sword skill from activating.

I expected him to leave the two tankers who were still in range and jump back, but he didn't.

He took the hit in the flat of the blade, his health bar going yellow in one strike, and instead of jumping back when his sister called him, he threw his other weapon and pressed forward unarmed and low in health.

I shook my astonishment and took command of the situation.

"Asuna! Yuki! Come with me!"

I activated -Rage Spike- to counter one of the wild swings of the boss, and we dashed side by side with him for a moment. I swung upwards, but it wasn't enough and the blade zoomed right between Asuna and Yuki.

"WATCH OUT!" I shouted, and Asuna ducked below the diagonal slash evading the damage. Her mantle wasn't that fortunate, and disintegrated in a shower of polygonal lights.

…That only further enhanced her ethereal appearance, I couldn't help but notice. Auburn hair like a fiery halo over her head, and eyes shining like topaz gems in the light of the room.

I was so stunned that only Yuki's tackle took me out of the range of the next strike. She lost her shield along with some health to the powerful swing, but took advantage of the opening to hit downwards with some skill unknown to me, staggering the boss momentarily.

I pushed myself back up and charged again, Asuna in toll, using -Rage Spike- and -Linear- once more shining in our blade tips.

A crimson glow gathered over the kobold lord's head and I briefly feared that he was going to hit with another skill, but it was Shirou, and 'how the hell he got up there!?' using the most basic technique of a single curved sword in the most impractical of ways.

* * *

As we struck ground again, engulfed in the shower of polygons from the boss' defeat I couldn't help but stare at Shirou, with his health in the red, calmly going to his previously threw sword to pick it up amongst the cheers of victory.

Such a scene was interrupted when his Sister (if I remember correctly) bashing her hand in his head, forcefully feeding him a potion while scolding him for being too reckless and 'stupidly seeking death' as she put it among other less polite terms.

The black swordsman who somehow knew my name from before shook hands with him, and them the red haired player looked at me, "Are you alright Asuna-san?" with that carefree smile of his. I felt my cheeks heating in embarrassment.

"Weren't you the one with the life in the red!?" I crossed my arms in defiance. "And how did you guys know my name anyway!?"

"HUH?!" Was their collective response. Did I ask something strange?

Then Yuki pointed upwards and to my right, explaining that if I focused on items in my vision I could get more detailed stats about my party members and even see the date if I focused in the clock.

"I hate to interrupt, but we're forming a party to get the second floor city teleport to activate. Would any of you want to join?" Diabel-san asked with a smile.


	6. Blades, Fists and Magic

_**CHAPTER 2 - BLADES, FISTS AND MAGIC**_

* * *

We travelled at leisure pace after reaching the exit of the dungeon. Yuki was chatting with Asuna, something about use of skills and battle tactics, and Shirou was doing some weird motions with one sword in hand. Now that I think of it…

"Is that the -Reverse Slash- ?" I asked. Seriously, how can someone who fought a boss single-handedly for half a minute have trouble with such a simple skill?

"Yes. I thought you were just a one handed sword user. You know curved blade skills too?" he focused on me.

"I used it briefly on the beta period, up to the third skill." He smiled awkwardly. "It's a downward slash type skill. You have to move like you're hitting from a 45 degree angle."

"Huh. That makes the slashing power greater, I guess, but why hitting the arm or shoulder when you could make it a high horizontal slash and hit the neck, lower the slash to cut the stomach or kidneys, or a diagonal upwards to aim it at the lungs or heart?" He spoke something outrageous with a completely straight face.

"I guess you have real experience with blades?" I asked, probably a bit pale from his reaction.

"Onii-chan knows a bit of everything! If there's an anime about it, we know about it!" Yuki interrupted. "Ne, nee, Kirito, what about making a party with us?" She asked with an expectant voice.

I'm thankful we don't sweat in virtual bodies. Else I would have dehydrated by now. Being close to people always makes me nervous, I guess, but is somewhat worse with girls. Especially when they're _that_ close.

"Kirito?" She insisted.

"Hey, look! The city!" I changed gears a bit too forcefully. "Let's go faster and activate the teleport gate!" And I ran from the situation like a coward.

* * *

We stood in front of the teleport and Diabel put his hands through the archway's gap, a shining blue light marking the activation of the gate. People poured from it almost instantly, cheering for our victory, curiously looking around or walking to nearby stores to check the products or simply enjoying the new surroundings.

Then a brownish shadow got out so fast that it trampled over Kirito, Asuna and my sister. My reflexes from Izumo and other situations were enough to save me from joining them in that embarrassing position on the floor. Though they recovered quickly, two, I swear to the root, _Ninjas_ poured just as fast and dashed off to the same direction and made they fall again.

"I'll go see what that is about." I waved them off. There isn't a way he could do anything to my sister inside a game, and if he somehow found one, I'll rip his junk and hands just off on principle.

I dash in pursuit, noticing that the three of them were going to outside the city. No matter how you look at it, it was 'two villains pursuing an innocent child', maybe a girl.

Considering my luck, _probably_ a girl.

I brought my left hand to open the menu screen and equipped the scarf/cape I won from one of the monsters on the boss floor. It was a bit of an eyesore all in crimson red and looking a bit ragged, but at least covered my face. The last thing I need is another girl like that on the first floor insisting on calling me onii-chan and getting into boundary battles against Yuki.

I still feel bad about my sister trouncing the girl with her STR focused build, but at least it dissuaded her from coming with us into dungeons.

We ran beyond the limits of the city, right into the fields, until I saw them stop. I quickly but silently approached, until I was under hearing range, then I took cover behind a large rock.

"… let you go until you give us what we want!" The two ninjas pressed the, I'm sure by now, girl.

She had light-brown curly hair, and unlike the other rare girls I saw in the city, she choose to wear plain brown leather equipment more suitable for a boy. "I told you I won't sell it-dayo!" Oh, and she had some make up painted whiskers on her face.

Sell it? What are they talking about?

"But we are willing to pay! Just tell us how much you want!"

More muffled footsteps closed from behind, but a quick glance confirmed to be Kirito and Yuki. Asuna must have chosen to stay behind because she was nowhere in sight.

"No, I won't do it, no matter how much you offer!" Ok, I may be getting the wrong idea here, but this doesn't sound proper. Or good.

Kirito jumped up a cliff to get a better look, and I once more focused on the guys.

"It's not a problem about price-yo! Didn't I tell you I don't want to be blamed after I sold the information-da!" The girl said in a slightly intimidating voice. Oh. _Information_. I was really getting the wrong idea for a moment.

"Why would we blame you!? No matter what price you ask, we'd still be saying gratitudes-gozaru! So just sell us the information about the quest hidden on this floor the acquisition quest for the -Extra Skill- already!"

Now that got my attention. -Extra Skills- were things we normally have to get by side quests or by pilling up impossible achievements in the game. I briefly had unlocked -Chain Weapons- after I took a Kusarigama from an froglike opponent on the eight floor, and defeated him with it, and I heard there was a -Meditation- skill, and a -Katana- Skill

I wonder if it's -Dual Wielding-…

Kirito jumped between them, probably annoyed at being left out of the battle, and they briefly discussed something about ninja clans and government agents (I swear, I'm _not_ crazy… yet).

But the more importantly, they reached for their swords, and that was something I could not overlook.

"I would give up I were you." I spoke in my most threatening voice.

"Yeah. We're allies of justice and protectors of the innocent!" Yuki also helped surround them from another angle, and I noticed with a scarf of her own (hers was a dark purple), covering the bottom of her face.

"I knew it! You_ are_ from another clan! We will be avenged!" They spoke like we had already defeated them, and dashed away, swearing revenge to an 'Iga' clan.

"You know, I don't get those guys…" I spoke first.

"They're crazy, and that's all that is." My sister spoke, and Kirito shook his head.

"Look at what I have just discovered…" The girl from before giggled to herself. "Kirito the Solo in a group. Now I have seen everything…"

"I guess you two know each other?" I asked. "Oh, sorry my name is-"

"Shirou, the hero of Aincrad. No one talks about _anything_ else these days." She completed.

Hero of Aincrad? Seriously? I haven't saved more than a dozen people yet!

"And his loyal sidekick, Yuki!" She bowed to my sister. "I'm Argo the Rat. The best information dealer of all Aincrad."

"I am no sideki-" I cover my sister mouth for a second and look at the one-head-shorter girl.

"Information dealer? That's nice. How do I contact you?" Information is always serious business. It could save lives, and it could change the world if used wisely.

Kirito interrupted us. "I think we should finish this in another place. I don't want to face this level's cows unprepared, just because I was standing in their detection range…"

I had to admit he made a good point. "Ok. Let's get back to the city…"

* * *

We found Asuna by chance in a local tavern that doubled as an Inn, and after we ordered some bread Shirou relaxed in his chair and turned to Argo: "Well, you were saying before?"

"I told you, just like I told them: I won't sell the information-dayo!" Argo's voice dropped a few tones threateningly.

"Huh? No, I don't care about an -Extra Skill- unless it allows me to use two blades at once." Shirou waved his hands dismissively. Seriously, 'I don't care?!' Which player of respect would say something like that!? "What I meant is: You're an information dealer, right? How much do you charge? How do I contact you?" He was so business-like that it was uncharacteristic of him. "Also, why were those guys after you?" He picked the bread from the NPC waitress and thanked her (really) them picked a bottle from his inventory and applied more of that jam to it.

"Some guys can't take a 'no'-aru." She dug on her bread with vigor, and Yuki nodded solemn. Asuna kept staring at us with some nondescript emotion playing on her face. That girl stills a mystery for me. I ignored the rest of the conversation and focused on the rapier user who just turned to look through the window to the outside fields.

"…ito?" Huh?

"Kirito." Argo called my name.

"Yes?"

"Do you trust him?" She pointed at Shirou.

"Somewhat." I scratched my head at the awkward question. "We fought the first boss together, and talked a bit. He seems a sincere type of guy."

Argo's mouth twisted upwards and her nose twitched. "I see-dayo. Well, if you guys swear you'll not blame me for the outcome, I'll tell you how to get the -Martial Arts- -Extra Skill-!"

"Hell yeah! Then we'll kick everyone's asses up to Mars!" Yuki shouted.

I started to shake my head at such silliness, when an unexpected sound came from Asuna.

*giggle* *giggle*

My mouth moved open and shut repeatedly, but no sound came out. The fierce, serious Rapier user, _overkill _adept, nearly _suicidal _Asuna, _giggling_?

"It's decided then. Wait? Do we go today or tomorrow?" Shirou spoke to the Rat.

"We can reach the place if we leave now…" the information dealer's face seemed haunted for a moment "But I think you guys will want to be fully rested for this…"

"Ok. We meet again, let's say, 9:00 o'clock central square tomorrow?" He offered.

"Eh…" I was unsure of how to react. I always refused to be a part of a group before, but I wanted to get to know Asuna better, and even I recognized that in a group of such dedicated persons, leveling would be easier.

"Sure." Said girl agreed.

"Now that's decided, let's go shopping!" Then the black haired girl stretched and brought her menu window to life, then grabbed Asuna and Argo's hands dragging them up.

"Have fun." Shirou waved. "I'll send a message as soon as I find a good Inn."

Yuki froze, then turned to her older brother slightly annoyed: "Oh no, you're_ not_! We're hitting a smith and buying you the best armor we can find, baka onii-chan!"

He turned to me with a pleading expression so uncharacteristic of him that I nearly dropped my cup. Still, from the times I had to hit the shopping district with my sister and mother, I can understand his suffering. "If you girls need me, I'll be leveling up on the northern fields." It doesn't mean I'll risk getting dragged in that mess to help him. I'm not _that_ stupid.

I heard that giggling coming from Asuna again. Maybe joining wouldn't be so bad afterall…

_No_.

Thankfully they dragged the crying (The system kind of overstated our emotions so he was crying a great deal) Shirou away helping me make my decision. I need to unlock the next -Skill Slot- tonight if I want to learn -Martial Arts- without sacrificing my -Tracking- and -One-handed Sword- skills…

* * *

"First of all, I work better without armor, second, didn't you said back a while that I need to gain a few levels?" Shirou tried to argue with his younger sister as he has been doing for the last ten minutes or so.

I wonder why the guy that stopped a _boss' Skill_ single handedly was being dragged so easily by his sister back and for-

"Leave me alone!" A voice interrupted my train of thoughts, along with a flash of purple.

"Not a chance! Give us the information we want and we will let you go!" Other character, seemingly a member of the -Fuumaningun- group (not a guild _yet_) of ninja-like bullies, shouted. Still, as long as the cowering boy didn't leave the city, he would be safe from any harm, if a bit annoyed or scared from the -Damage Prevention System- flashes. No sense in getting inv-

"Stop that!" Shirou's voice cut above every sound. I resisted both the urge to facepalm, and the other to squeal at the change in his posture. Gone was the pushover, crying boy. His back was straight; his feet were set apart like some characters I saw in a few martial-arts movies I like and his very being exuded confidence.

"You again! We of the Fuumaningun will get our revenge for the former-" A black blur exploded in a purple flash throwing him back with impressive force. Following the attack with his eyes the ninja was smashed again for taking his eyes of the opponent and looking at the dark sword resting on the floor. This time it was a -Reverse Slash-, and he quickly changed the weapon to the other hand and followed with a -Reaver-

The ninja tried to react, expecting the delay of the next skill activating, but the redhead surprised me by kicking his grounded sword into his hands again and launching a blinding fast sequence of strikes.

"Stoop! Stooop! I give up!" The ninja threw his hands up and the onslaught stopped.

"Soo, isn't very fun when it's you on the receiving end, is it?" The hero towered over the Fuuma. The boy shook his head as fast as he could, and slipping back, broke in a desperate run.

* * *

"I'll remember that! The Fuuma clan will have revenge, you Iga bastard!" The ninja shouted from the distance.

"Thank you! Thank you, Shirou-sama!" The kid (He must be twelve at most) from early kneeled in front of me, and requested in a humble voice: "Please teach me your ways! I want to be strong like you and have beautiful girls flocking around me!"

_Huh_? I replayed the _last_ sentence in my mind twice, to make sure I heard correctly. Sure, Yukari was by no means unattractive, and I already had to threaten one or two players with a certain disregard for _personal space_, but _flocking_? "Then again, Asuna is a beauty, and Argo is very cute when she isn't trying to scare people with the _mantle-wearing scary person_ act…"

Argo gasped and Asuna 'eeped' in surprise. 'I said that out loud, didn't I?' I refrained to ask the obvious and instead, I muttered my long time 'It's all the Root/Zelrech's fault.' mantra under my breath. And as they moved to question me, I followed the most sensible course of action as of one under such a situation: I ran away from the city.

Maybe the boss room would prove to be a nice hideout… I'm sure the boss will be sympathetic enough to my situation and try to _kill _me on the spot.

* * *

…Next day, on the square…

"Why you didn't come back Oniiiii-chan?" Yukari whined. "I was worried!"

"I took your advice to heart and decided to reach level 13. I took a while though." I shrugged.

"I took the girls to grind too!" Yuki flashed me a V sign. "And I reached 13 yesterday too!"

"Good morning guys!" Kirito greeted us as he approached.

"Ne, ne Kirito-kun, what's your level?" Yuki approached him shamelessly. For all the mess of memories I have in my head from multiple realities, I still tried to follow local rules of etiquette. My sister on the other way didn't bother with such things when it wasn't convenient.

"17, I reached it yesterday while on the field." He stammered while backing down. Yuki walked one step forward and I noticed a weird gleam in her eyes as she manipulated her menu.

"Nice. When we reach the boss room you'll form a part with us again right?" She took another step forward. Kirito managed an utterly unsure stuttered "su-re." reply, and she continued "And what about forming a guild with us later on?" pressing him forward.

"Ah… Eh…" He seemed unable to form a response.

"You know, Yuki-han, is quite bold of you to jump a boy in the middle of the central square." I heard Argo's laugher right by my side.

It was harassment no matter how you looked at it: By the point they were now, Kirito was seated and leaning back to put some distance between him and Yuki, who was standing with her legs apart over his body and leaning forward. I had to remember myself that it was all Yuki's fault for not to try and hurt Kirito already.

"You two aren't very serious about the skill, aren't you?" Asuna asked from a different direction.

"Okay, I'll form the damn Guild!" Kirito pushed Yuki back and ran to me. "Control your sister damn it."

I shrug "If you wasn't so easy to embarrass, she wouldn't resort to it." A system message popped in front of him with the party invitation and he pressed -yes-.

* * *

It took us one hour to reach our destination, nearly twice the usual time but that was because Shirou stopped to help a party against a group of seven -Wild Bull- type monsters that they probably collected while running away. Potential tragedy averted, reckless players scolded for their behavior (and Shirou being accused by Yuki and Kirito of Hypocrisy) we arrive at the isolate hut and I open the doors.

The bald old (but extremely bulky and intimidating man) walks forward and asks: "Thou wishes to be a disciple?"

Both the cheerful Yuki and the serious Kirito answered yes at the same time, and Asuna also shrugged and followed not far behind. Since I positioned away from the NPC's field of vision, his gaze fixed in the only player who haven't answered yet: Shirou, who was either sulking from the prior admonishment or looking for something in the distance.

"Erm, Yes?" Feeling the guys's gaze, Shirou turned asking politely. The NPC nodded and continued, completely misunderstanding the meaning behind the tone.

"Even though there be a long and steep road of training?"

"What? No! I don't-"

I couldn't help but laugh at his sulking face full of paint in the form of a Tanuki, for the Heroic redhead, a kitten for the long haired girl and Kiriemon for Kirito. Yuki painting was original to say the least… Monocle and a thin mustache and goatee made her twitching expression too much entertaining.

"Soo, that's… why you has-" Kirito burst out on awkward laugh, and I couldn't help but feel a bit vindictive.

"Oh, but the best part is yet to come-na…" I said, and as if on cue, the elder threw (yes, threw!) three more large rocks in front of the startled group.

"Until this rock is split, leaving this mountain is forbidden. And thou hast to demonstrate it in front of me." The elder NPC nodded pleased with himself and continued, "That -Mark- cannot be removed until thou hath split this rock and finished the training. I believe in thee, my disciples."

I couldn't help but roll in the floor laughing at their twitching faces.

"I see why you were afraid of dying now…" Asuna's voice lowering to a quite dangerous tone was my first clue,"I have half a mind to break my word and punch you for not warning us." And Yuki just caught me when I was leaving.

"Nononono~o." She 'tsked' and waved a finger to me. Try as I might, I couldn't get rid of her higher STR. "If we are on this mess, so are you." She pushed me in front of the old master and held both sides of the door.

* * *

I sighed. Half a day of training, and we haven't managed to even make a dent on the rocks. According to Kirito, and don't ask me _how_ he knows these things, the rocks were one step short of indestructible, and no amount of normal damage was enough to break them.

Of course, I remembered while eating, I'm not exactly _normal_.

I stood in front of the rock, and muttered my 'trace on'aria, and activated my analysis, not on the rock, not in the environment, but on the NervGear, and then on my own nerves.

Then I reinforced myself to a safe amount and punched the rock with all my might.

"It figures reinforced strength wouldn't make much difference."

I reinforced myself again, but this time, I applied a layer of alteration on both the circuits that captured my data, and my own body.

_'Object analysis, Conceptual Reinforcement - level 1, Alteration - Impose concept: Enhanced Transference Spectrum. Limit Analysis, Self-Reinforcement stage 2, Alteration - Impose concept: Enhance hardness and concussive strength_' I might be a third rate magus limited to only a few spells, but after nearly a century working on them, well, they're like a swiss-army-knife in my hands.

Pain shot through my body for the first time since I entered the floating castle, and I punched again, copying one of those Jeet Kune Do punches Rin made a point to try on _me_ when I exploded the workshop on England.

Pain shot through my hand as if I really punched a rock (and yes, I've done _that_ before), but the effect was a notable improvement: A fist-sized indentation appeared on the rock, with spider-web cracks from the point of impact. A hazy red colored light leaked from my fists though, this world representation of blood, and my HP bar suffered a slight dent.

* * *

Takami was dedicating all MBI resources she could get her hands on to take care of her son and daughter. She have brought them to MBI tower IC unit, used her influence to direct personal doctors to each and have them into a rotating schedule so there's always one present at any given moment.

She also made a point to simply move her personal office to that floor. As such, she nearly jumped when Shirou's monitors showed an increase in temperature and brain activity, and when his fist twitched and two of his fingers broke, she called all the specialists she could and ordered her own personal equipment to be brought.

* * *

"Onii-chan, that's is soo awesome! How did you do it?" Yuki's voice was the loudest but more discrete questions also came from Kirito and Asuna.

I simply stayed there looking at my hand, feeling slightly curious as of why it was still aching.

Well, is not like it was real pain, probably some phantom pain from the enhanced feedback.

* * *

Matsu was tasked with the analysis of all the SAO incident data once it was proved that direct interference was too risky, and she fully expected to be called at any given moment Takami was curious about her son's situation.

But this was news to her. "He broke his hand while punching a rock! How is_ that_ possible?" The scientist asked annoyed.

"Nee Takami, that sounds completely natural when you omit he punched the rock in the virtual- " A punch interrupted whatever the MBI CEO's didn't managed to say before.

"It sounds about right. The Nervgear signals also peaked beyond factory specifications from twelve seconds before to three seconds after the moment of the punch. I don't know what that means though. Maybe it was an anomaly." The hacker was still typing at moderate speeds while delivering her explanation.

"Anomaly or not, I want all the information you can get about it." The concerned mother glared.

"Have I ever told you how difficult it is to work with so little data?" Matsu complained seriously. "One wrong step and I fry someone's brain! This guy was so paranoid that it's ridiculous! He didn't specified conditions for the Nervgear to fry brains. He specified very few that _kept_ the helmet from doing it!" She panted as she neared the end of her tirade, "also he used a custom system with nothing I can exploit. Even the OS is imbedded on the hardware. I can't overwrite remotely, I can't substitute the circuit, and I can't do more than get choppy videos from leaked connection data." She slumped on her chair. 'And there is no one else I want to save more than him.' She added on her mind.

* * *

After three days, two and a half hours, Kirito managed to break the rock. Yukari was a few hours later, followed by Asuna. Shirou was the last one, but in his own mind, he accomplished more than simply learning an -Extra Skill-: He rediscovered his own magic in this universe.

"I curse the old apostle. This is all his fault." He muttered to the wind.

* * *

…Days Later…

"Onii-chan? Where is Kirito-kun?" Yuki asked after we beat the second boss.

"I believe I saw him going to the third floor…" Asuna sighed.

I kept quiet. Saying that he did the most sensible thing and ran away from my sister is _not_ a good idea, even if I managed to avoid being the one to take most damage as to not anger her this time. The downside is that both she and Asuna (her new best friend, as she put it) will be walking with just me, and my reputation will get worse.

I swear these people are way worse at gossip than that female high school I attended back in another universe: One afternoon walking through -Urbus- shopping district with my sister and two friends, or more accurately carrying stuff as a human pack mule-… Wait! Why didn't we just put it away on our inventories?! …And I'm gathering a harem.

"Onii-chan was way more awesome! You saw that time he jumped away and rolled under the boss body to get in the monster's belly? That's what I'm talking about!" I ignore my sister antics to take a look at the forward group that was hurt by the area attack the developers gave to the boss this time.

The differences were getting bigger… by the 5th floor and beyond, we might be facing different bosses altogether.


	7. The Sweet and Sour Smell of Sulfur

_**CHAPTER 3 - THE SWEET AND SOUR SMELL OF SULFUR**_

* * *

"BACK DOWN! EVERYONE, FULL RETREAT!" Diabel's commanding voice echoed through the room. The main forward party had scattered in panic when the drake-type boss breathed fire, except for the axe user Egil who held the creature at bay along with me. Still, having to evade its frantic attacks while attacking to keep it from focusing on the other players was taking its toll on me…

"Haaa!" Kirito joined the fray, a flash of yellow hitting the drake's head and disrupting the breath attack it was charging, but making the monster focusing on him again.

"Damn Kirito, **back OFF**!" I shouted and pushed him away from the tail's swing "You won't stand another attack!" and jumped out of range said watching said appendage's return. A quick impalement with one of my lesser blades pinned the offending member to the ground, but the monster still focused on him, and its mouth once more alighted with fire. Manipulating the menu, I quickly called the Roman styled heavy shield in response and knelt in front of the blast shielding my shorter friend from certain death.

Fire spewed forth and thankfully the shield held, and I dashed to back to the entrance door, after the last man retreated safely out of the room. The door was quickly shut, and the party exhaled a much deserved breath of relief.

"How many dead?" Kirito asked solemn to the large axe-wielder.

The bald man didn't answer, but one of his companions "Three, man. Three died! We were surprised when the lizards appeared from behind, and trapped in front of the boss without chance of retreat. Dammit!"

"..."

My hand clenched in rage at his powerlessness, but Yuki's hand holding mine helped me calm down to a certain degree.

I breathed deeply. No one stood a chance going in and trying to kill the boss alone. We needed the party. That meant risks, even in a supposed game. It was better than real life by a bit, as you couldn't get permanently maimed or scarred, but one could still die.

And that was just _not right_.

"Nii-chan?"

I sighed. The way back was both tense, and sad, and the air of defeatism hung over their heads like a dark cloud.

"What now?" Asuna, who had kept quiet the entire way back spoke.

"We replenish potions and crystals, get better weapons, grind like maniacs and try again next week." Kirito said seriously.

Yuki made a vague sound of agreement, and my voice sounded more like a grumble than anything else.

We had done what was possible. Took precautions, made strategies, and leveled enough to make the usual monsters easy pick. The last boss was gone under ten minutes and only three of the group got into the yellow zone. The mood was improving, people were starting to hope that the game was going to end eventually. And then… _this_.

Argo joined our side in her traditional brown cape. After a brief period of silence, she spoke: "I heard about what happened from the prayers. Don't let it eat at you, it was not you guys fault."

The prayers. Since the third boss battle a group of low level players started to watch us from the sidelines on the strategy meetings, and when the assigned time came for our assault, they would go and watch the -Black Iron Castle-'s -Monument of Life-, praying for the safety of the clearing group. They also organized a party of sorts for every floor cleared, and helped clearing players that had lost weapons or armor durability with cheap repairs.

Most never gave them much thought, but I respected those guys a great deal, after all, If we were the spear blade, who penetrated the opponent, they were the shaft, pushing us forward and giving us strength.

"Even if you say that, Argo, without we leveling a bit, the result will be the same." Asuna started dejected, but it was Yuki who continued: "It was too strong! The life bars simply didn't dropped! And when we managed to land a hit, it started flying and those damned -Salamanders- spawned in groups to prevent us from resting!"

"It's a _dragon_ type." I pointed up drawing on a similar experience with fire breathing beasts. "They're usually the toughest. We need something to harm it more effectively, or maybe a way to negate its advantages, and to make the battle in our terms."

"But how?" Asuna asked.

"I wonder…" Kirito seemed to musing at something for a while, looking forth between me and Yuki, and then he snapped his fingers "Argo, I need you to call everyone from the clearing group. Shirou, I'm going to need you to make more of those cheap spears of yours," cheap, he says! I cost a good hundred coll in materials to make a spear with good damage ratio, and it took good three hours to hammer it enough at my level. "Asuna, remember that friend of yours you mentioned later? We will need her too. Yuki, you and I will gather materials for Shirou and the other smith to make more spears. We're going to hunt dragons, good old dragonslayer style."

* * *

_25th floor, 2 days after the 25th boss fight…_

"So you're the Red Hero?" The _pink-haired _girl in a_ maid costume_ with a hammer looked me up and down.

"Actually, my name is Shirou. The rumors of my supposed heroism are-"

"Completely exaggerated." Asuna completed my response.

"Onii-chan is actually a suicidal idiot. He probably think it's fun making us worry." Yuki shot that long-suffering look at me. Come on, I'm not _that_ bad.

Kirito came back to the house we rented in the town. "Who is the maid and where is the blacksmith?" I rolled my eyes. Nice social skills as _ever_ Kirito… Then again I wasn't much better when I was a teenager.

"Nevermind him. I'm pleased to meet you miss…" I put my hand forward less she decides to pull a Yuki and strain the damage prevention code.

"Lizbet. So you're a blacksmith and a fighter? How do you pull it off?" She took a closer look at me as if it would allow her to see something different.

"I'm more like a weapon maker than a blacksmith actually. I can't repair things or make armor, and I can't refine metal…" I scratched the back of my neck. I seriously need to get rid of that tic.

"Can't repair?!" She twitched.

"Well, we can rely on NPC shops for repair, but if you want a custom weapon you need to forge it yourself." I shrugged. Better focus on making what I can't buy, right. It's just logic.

"Do I really need to work with this amateur?" She turned to Asuna. _Amateur_? I'm not one to take insults seriously girl, but I happen to have some pride in my forging skills in and out game.

"Why don't you check my skills before saying that?" I managed to propose before she said something else.

"To the forge then _Amateur-san_." She looked right into my eyes.

"Lead the way," I made the universal gesture for 'ladies first' and she walked haughtily forward. "_Maid-chan_." I couldn't resist the jibe in response, and her shoulders tensed.

* * *

… at night, in the Local Inn…

"I think Liz-chan have something for my Onii-chan." Yuki sulked while drinking the ale while we waited for the others to come back to the inn. Both Shirou and Lizbet already said they're working late night to finish the first batch of spears, and will be coming back much later.

"Shouldn't you be happy for him? Lizbet-san is a nice person, and at least we don't have to threaten to stab her to keep her away. That girl from last week really annoyed me." Seriously, just because he saved you, it doesn't mean he had fallen in love with you.

"Tehee, Asuna-chan. Are you jealous of Onii-chan? I thought you were my rival for Kirito-kun." I couldn't help but blush. How does she say such things so easily? And why am I so annoyed at Liz getting to be alone with Shirou, and Yuki sticking to Kirito.

"What about _you_? Didn't you say something like you Onii-chan making you a woman a while ago?" A new voice entered the talk, and I prayed desperately she wasn't with Kirito.

"I thought you got lost in the first floor, Rat." Yuki glared at our unofficial party attaché.

"Nah, I don't get lost easily-aruyo. And don't blame me for your brother getting another admirer." She took the hood down and sat with us.

"Any news from _them_." I asked uncertain.

"Yes, they're trying to get someone to record 'Shirou's fight' with the boss." Argo delivered without missing a beat. "Seriously, if they ever get more than ten members, I'm running away to some rural floor and disappearing. They have been planning ways to get rid of us without turning red, you know?"

"They still believe those stupid rumors that we are Shirou's harem?" I blushed even more from even considering it. "Yuki is his _sister_, for god's sake!" I pointed out.

"Well, she doesn't help with her comments, you two are good friends, and he and I are often seen talking alone when he asks for information-ne."

"I hate fangirls…" Yuki munched her bread angrily.

* * *

…On the other side of the town, in the local furnace…

'I have to focus on the sword!' I remembered myself for the unkempt time. Why does the idiot have to take his shirt off to work? The armor I understand, he does use a higher level (and consequently heavier) one, but why the _shirt_!?

"One more done. Two to go." He called.

"Seriously, you're too slow. I only have one more batch to go." I smirked, trying to suppress my blush. My clothes are probably wrinkled, I'm soot covered, and thankfully in this world I don't smell, because if I did…

"Well, you are more skilled in it… But the ones I made are better." He smiled.

"Lucky idiot." I hammer a bit more strongly.

"I get that a lot." He shrugged.

Even if it was a lot of work, I was enjoying leaving -Taft- for a change. And for all our playful banter, Shirou is quite a nice company. He is also quite wise for his age too, not to mention quite…

* * *

…One and Half an hour later…

"Ahhh… finished!" I sighed and sat on the nearest chair. To my right, Shirou hammered the shaft of the spear methodically with a look of concentration on his face.

"Give me the last one, I'll do it for you." I offered. He looked at me for a while, his hand never stopping to hit the tip of the spear, but a look of confusion on his face.

"The spear, Amateur-san. If I finish it we could go sleep earlier." I explained.

"You can go sleep, Maid-chan. I can't stop hitting to open the menu anyway." He shrugged without missing the rhythm. He takes this way too much seriously, the level of the weapon is randomized anyway.

I picked one of the spears he made and focused on it. -Short Spear Type-, -Leaf Tip- Not unique by any means, but a bit better than the one I just finished. I put it back and turned to look at him, hammering the damn thing without missing a beat, like he had been doing it for years, _without_ the system assistance.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Lizbet-san?" He surprised me by calling me by name. "You must be tired."

"It's too boring to be here by yourself, isn't?" I put the chair in front of him and sat down. " I'm going to make you company until you finish it."

* * *

…Six Days Later, 25th Boss' Room…

We were once more in front of the boss' door. The entire party checked their weapons durability, prepared crystals and potions and stopped for a last breath before another difficult battle.

Like _last_ time.

We pushed the doors open, and the dragon or better the -The Black Wyvern- took flight for his first strike. Everyone ran to the outer areas of the room, near the walls and focused on the smaller -Salamander- monsters that spawned.

As we knew what to expect, the small fry was easily dealt with.

The dragon came in a dive, and landed in the center of the room and I ran to it, along with Shirou, Asuna and other AGI focused players.

"Hey, ugly thing! Want a piece of this? Come and get me!" One of the players, a scrawny boy that favored a Katana like Cline taunted the beast with a knife throws.

"NOW!" I shouted, Yuki and Egil took front in the assault, the girl using her high-level -Chain Weapon- skills to throw her mace and wrap it on the dragon's tail while the other players threw chains over the creature's body. The monster thrashed around, one of the army guys was thrown across the room, but thankfully his helmet prevented head damage (and stun) from the fall. Spears were quickly taken from menu screens, and used to pin the chains to the ground.

His cursor immediately showed the status change. The boss was now under the -Bind- status.

Oh, it could still fight. His long neck tried to bite everyone that came into range, he bit the chains (that were made to be fireproof), he breathed fire at random intervals and his claws were scrapping the ground. But he didn't have the advantage anymore.

Or so we thought. From there, all went to hell.

When we were planning this assault, the army (who were always rushing to clear floors and kill bosses before us) surprisingly offered to let the rivalry to the side this once and work with us in this fight. The clearing group was ecstatic, and it thankfully helped us get our confidence was back.

Now their squad leader, that guy named -Kibaou- that refused to work along the clearers, simply disregarded the rest of the strategy (which was trying to neutralize the bite and breathe weapons too) and rushed along the other members in a full assault!

"BACK DOWN YOU FOOLS!" I still recall Shirou's anguished shouts to this day. They've heard that he had stopped the fire breath with a shield and thought they could do the same.

Shirou's shield was a reward from a difficult side quest on the floor just below this one. Theirs were simple town bought (if high quality) ones. The first strike claimed four lives, and a bite took the fifth.

Diabel and Heathcliff (I didn't knew his name at the time) rushed to them from the left with their heath and tower shields, Shirou came from the right with a large heath-shaped one and that silvery spear that he forged along with Lizbet (and they still didn't told me the story of _how_), Yuki by his side, her own shield (also a round one) in hands and the boss mouth glowed with embers.

I ran to the back. "Egil! Give me a push!" I jumped to him, and he used the side of his battle-axe to give me an extra speed, my hand going through the motions of calling the menu and equipping a spear of my own in my of hand.

I grabbed one of the chains that weren't pinned down, and swung it around the beast's neck, using the spear to try and force it to the ground. 'No time! When it finishes breathing it will try to eat me!' I pushed down with all my might, and other nearby players helped me too. I distinctly remember Egil picking the spear from my hands and pinning the chain to the ground, cutting the neck movement in a half.

Of the shields, only Heathcliff's one survived the attack, and it was so visibly damaged that everyone could see it breaking apart the next time someone touched it.

The army fools, incapable of continuing, panicked and trampled each other until someone commanded to go and stab the dragon from its flanks. I myself had rolled out of range the moment the neck had snapped into my direction. Two of the life bars were gone. Three left. We attacked restlessly, only giving space when the beast thrashed too much.

Two life bars left. The tail ripped the chains loose. Shirou ducked low, pulling Asuna under him, and taking the brunt of the strike, I remember Yuki taking a dagger from someone and using it as a nail and her mace as a hammer while Egil and Shirou held the beast's tail with their bare hands.

One and a Half. The creature's neck managed to turn to one flank, we shouted curses while retreating, and fire bursting forth on two or three guys from the army who didn't moved fast enough.

Some chains, strained from the heat, broke apart. Shirou, the crazy idiot, pierced through the dragon leg with the silver spear of his and managed to pin it to the ground. The creature stumbled, missing the bite on one of the clearers and throwing the Hero to the ground.

The boss wasn't amused by that. Its jaw snapped on his legs, and it was throwing him up to a bite. I still can't quite figure out what I did, but my blade found itself on the beast's eye forcing it to release Shirou.

Diabel caught him and pushed him away, and struck the creature's chest with the -Vertical Square- skill.

One Lifebar.

I managed to equip a second sword, and dashed with a Vertical square of my own, followed by Asuna's own -Dawn Strike-. Yuki enlaced the lizards face with her chain before it managed to bite someone, but even her monstrous STR attribute wasn't enough to hold the boss for long. Diabel and Heathcliff struck the monster chest, and it struck back with his unhurt claw.

Diabel raised his shield, but as it was his spare even with its good quality wasn't enough to hold the attack. Heathcliff pushed him back to 'POT' and struck again.

Half.

Yuki was pulled into one of the pillars, Asuna had to retreat after being caught by the tail, I myself was nearing yellow, and Shirou was still on the floor, under -Maim- status, but thankfully alive.

Then the boss' neck stretched up again, and his mouth glowed crimson. It aimed at my fallen comrade. As if the world slowed down, I tried to reach my battle brother with a scream, Diabel jumped in front of the blast, his tattered shield the only thing between him and the fire.

"-NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I found myself screaming along Shirou.

Diabel's polygons dispersed in the air…

I jumped on the murderous thing's back somehow ripping the spear out of its leg and spearing through his back.

Another one speared though its chest, reaching my leg and chipping the last green out of my life.

Zero.

I fell to the ground on my ass, but breathed a sigh of relief. It's over.

* * *

A storm of recriminations came in the aftermath of the battle, with Kibaou in the center. Every combatant had known the plan, so every combatant knew who had chosen to disregard it. He tried to defend his decision - arguing that we had won, that the army had turned the tide. But then he said something unforgivable.

"I couldn't just let the Beaters steal all the glory!"

_Glory,_" I heard a voice filled with bitterness say. I didn't realize it was my own until I saw the others clearing a path between the two of us. "If you can say something like that, you have no idea what it even is."

He tried to respond - "You guys set it up so you'd get the finishing blow! You'd get all the credit!"

My reply was harsh from anger. "Glory doesn't come from the edge of a sword, that's what you don't understand! You can't take glory like treasure from a defeated opponent. You can't claw your way towards it over the backs of your comrades."

"Glory isn't something you _win_, it's something you have to _earn_."

"It's in every time your comrades come back safe from a mission because you took a blow for them. It's in every time a friend could have been struck down were you not there. It's in every smile of gratitude, every word of thanks from the people you protect. It's in every time you carry out your duty so that others' lives will be spared!"

"Where is the glory in the soldiers you lead into battle, who trusted you to do your best by them, being beset with injuries and burns? Where is the glory in Diabel's _death_?"

"Until you understand that, I have nothing more to say to you."

"So what," Kibaou asked, "Are you saying I should have to fend for myself?"

"No," I replied as I turned my back. "I will _fight_ alongside you. I will _defend_ you if _need_ be. But until you understand what glory really is, I cannot _trust_ you."

(ESPECIAL THANKS TO XAvAX FOR THIS SEGMENT, THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.)

* * *

…_Aincrad 1st floor - Black Iron Castle…_

"You heard the report! They had the gall of correct me!" Kibaou nearly jumped on the commander's table.

"You outstepped your boundaries Captain!" The supreme commander of the liberation force hit the table with enough force to shatter it, but thankfully the system prevented the damage with only a flash. "Your eagerness might prove your heart is in the right place, but it also says your head _isn't_." Then the guild leader sighed. "You're dismissed."

The spikey haired soldier slammed the door shut with way more force than necessary.

"I'd like to meet this hero." A female voice came from his side.

"Do you always spy someone else's meeting?" The commander pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You orders were, and I quote: Keep your eyes on any problematic individuals that could undermine our guild's balance." She smiled knowingly. He had lost that round.

* * *

… _At the same time, the army main quarters…_

"… and the only reason it worked for him and not for us, is that the cheaters monopolized all the good equipment! The commander is closing his eyes or perhaps afraid of them, but I say we fight!" He pumped his fist on the air for emphasis.

"Cleanse the cheaters!" He roared.

"Cleanse the cheaters!" The group of fighters echoed.

* * *

_26th floor - Local Inn..._

"So, Shirou, What do you got from the -Last Attack- Bonus?" Argo inquired curiously.

"I haven't checked yet." He chuckled. "I'd say the curiosity killed the cat, but I think it would be a good think for you, right_ Rat_?"

"I've told you you can call me Argo, ne." She smiled.

"And I've told you to stop _stalking_ my oni-chan!" Yuki shouted at her, and sat right between Lizbet and Shirou, with 'humph'.

I smiled, happy that she wasn't clinging to me again, even if by all looks (and truths too, I suspect), Shirou have all the girls around him. "I got a straight sword, but I can't use it. Want to trade?" He offered.

"I got another coat: -Knight's Mantle-, in _red_ no less." I looked at my own message log. He shook his head. "What's with me and red? First Yuki gave me that jacket on the second floor, then the 11th floor's drop, and now this." He whined uncharacteristically.

"It's true then? You both got the LA together!" Argo piped in, then took notes on some pad she produced from her pockets.

"You dislike red, Shirou-san?" Asuna asked from his right.

"No, it's just... _complicated_."

"I can change the color when I upgrade the item. You could give it a try." The blacksmith girl offered.

"I think I might... Thanks Maid-chan." Lizbet's face flushed, but in anger not embarrassment.

"Stop calling me _that_!"

"Shirou?" Another voice called from our left. The another red knight from earlier, 'Heatclip' (?) (why do they choose hard to say foreign sounding names anyway?) or something. He looked somewhat serious and somewhat like a game's mage more than a swordsman, but seemed like a good person nonetheless.

"That is me, erm..."

"Heathcliff." He offered his hand, which Shirou promptly shook, "It came to my notice you and your friends don't have a guild yet. Would you like to join me? I'm founding a clearer guild named 'Knights of Blood'. We aim to be the biggest frontline fighters of Aincrad."

"Erm, sorry but no." Our friend scratched the back of his neck, "I prefer to work freely." then smiled. "But if you guys need help just give me a call and I would be glad to help."

"Ok then." He nodded not disturbed in the least. "The offer stands though, any day you guys change your mind..." He left with a wave of his hand.

"Which prompts me to ask: why we are _not_a -Guild- yet Shirou-san?" Asuna asked giving him her undivided attention. It annoyed me somehow.

"Erm, because we're an unbalanced group?" The Hero of Aincrad, The Toughest Swordsman, The Unkillable (among other titles), _hesitated_.

"One Tanker that is worth three people, three damage dealers, one support, assuming Argo-san joins."

"Two. I'm _in_." Lizbet pointed out.

"Ok, two." The -Berserker Flash- smiled and added: "Now we just need a name."

"Shirou's Harem!" Someone shouted from another table.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a _guy_." I shouted back.

"And Yuki is my sister." Shirou added.

"You didn't deny the rest though." I pointed out. He and Asuna answered with murderous looks, but the other girls just blushed. "Ok, I'm quiet."


	8. Flirting with Death and Luck

_**CHAPTER 4 - FLIRTING WITH DEATH AND LUCK**_

* * *

_MBI Headquarters, Biotechnical Research Labs - 17:38_

Takami finished the reviewing notes on the adjustment process of number 108. She sighed. While she very much abhorred the concept of such a young girl being bonded to an adult, she feared what could happen if Kusano was the only Sekirei of a child around her (apparent) age.

At least if the girl was released this early, she could still grow up and mature enough until the plan is resumed.

"The only good thing to ever come from Kayaba's madness, I'm sure…" She finished applying the last injection on the small girl's buttocks, raised her underpants, ruffled the sound asleep girl's hair and whispered. "Find a good boy that makes you happy and live Kusano-chan."

Her cellphone blared an emergency siren, and she sped through the door with an unexpected speed silencing it along the way. Everyone got out of the way of the frantic woman, as she rose the two floors and barreled through the corridors as if she was possessed.

Haihane nodded to her as she passed the door, not even bothering to check her ID. It's not like she would mistake her adjuster for someone else.

"What happened!?" Her eyes flicked first to the heart and cerebral rate indicators besides her children beds that only showed intense activity, then to the screens on Matsu's showed one choppy video of… _lovemaking_ between a boy and a girl, from the girl's point of view.

"Matsu, please tell me that is _not_ Yukari." Who did even program that kind of thing in a _game_?!

"Huh?" The perverted Sekirei followed her boss' gaze to the leftmost monitor. "Nah, that's Makie Yukino, next door's player. She has a very… _Affectionate_ boyfriend." Matsu clicked the window off, and handled a large stack of papers to the Researcher. "I finished gathering the data you requested. It's not my fault you treat every call as an emergency." Matsu sighed.

"Cut the crap. What do you got?"

"He is triggering the _'Event'_ on purpose." A pause, "I don't know if it's part of the project, but NervGear has a hidden trigger not unlike the ones in our brains, regulating how much strength we can use at once. In certain situations, some players simply _disregard_ the limitations imposed by the system and do what they need. Prolonged use induce brain damage, like that girl from Kyoto."

"I thought _you_ theorized she was a _freak accident_, because NervGear can't handle children _that_ young."

I thought so, until I compared hers and Minato's data. She repeatedly surpassed the limiter when afraid and suffered a fatal stroke six weeks ago. Your son is triggering the same event on the NervGear it on purpose, and the way he is doing it causes that feedback effect. Thankfully his more developed nervous system is diverting most of the damage away from his brain, but that is also causing the his body to damage itself."

"How does he even do it?"

"I'm not sure. Brain Patterns match some Auto-hypnosis cases."

* * *

_…28th floor, Thieves' hideout…_

"Yuki, down!" Said girl hit the deck and allowed me to pierce through the white clad warrior's chest.

Shirou jumped over one and threw his right sword on another's unprotected flank, landing on the perfect posture to use -Crimson Strike-, easily killing the human shaped AI.

Yuki finished another one, and Lizbeth smashed the one Shirou had struck earlier, "I don't need your help!" glaring at him.

He just shrugged and chuckled, picking his sword from the floor. I could swear I heard him mutter 'Tsunderes' under his breath.

"I hate human shaped MOBs! I feel like I'm killing _people_!" Lizbet complained.

"Same here. I wonder if Kayaba though of the effects it could have on us when he made these ones." Shirou agreed.

Sadly, while these AI's looked human, if hooded and armored Arabian styled thieves, they didn't accept dialogue or bribery. The only interaction possible with them was at sword point. Their -Fanatic of the Lion Clan- Designation was more than appropriate.

And we _needed_ to pass them to find the dungeon's Key. Just _wonderful_.

"Hey Asuna-chan? How long do you think Kirito-kun will take?" My friend interrupted my line of thoughts with an unrelated question.

"I don't know, maybe a day. He did need a hundred of them."

'Get a hundred -Hard Leather Scraps- ' was his quest. I hated that one, but at least the reward was good. That armor had saved me more times than I cared to admit, and I only got the second best possible reward according to Argo. "Well, is not like he would be in trouble on the 18th floor, would he?" I offered.

"Knowing him? He will _find_ a way." Lizbeth giggled.

"Break is over, let's go before they respawn." I shook my head and spoke in the sternest tone I could manage. If I leave them Shirou will try to go by himself, Yuki will start joking and lose focus and Liz will be looking at him and darydream.

Why do I have to be the serious one?

* * *

…the day after, undisclosed location…

Spear met shield, and dagger flashed to her left, nicking her once more. Her life decreased another sliver, and she took a step back. Her spear flashed yellow, and shield met the charge once more. The knight didn't even take a step back, pressing the offensive even more fiercely. Dagger flashed three times, her life entered the yellow zone, and also flashed three times.

Paralysis. _Now_ she panicked. Is he going to _kill_ her? Is he going to have his way with her _then_ kill her? Is he simply going to have her way with her and leave? If she had to choose, living was better, even if for such disgusting price. She was many things, but never a quitter.

She was going to see that damned castle to the end, be it good or bad…

He then tied her hands behind her back, and her feet together. Oh, god no!

* * *

… _Twenthieth floor, -Ronbaru- Main Square_, a few moments later…

"So, they are fighting again?" Lizbet asked me. In front of us, Asuna and Yuki were surrounding a purple flash that I was sure contained Kirito inside_ somehow_.

"Ki-bou joined a guild while he was away. The two of them were, rightfully I'd say, pissed off-ne."

"And Shirou?"

"Late again. I'll bet my new cape is because of a girl." The blacksmith at my side fumed in anger.

"I doubt it."

"Care to put you money where your mouth is?"

"Sure!" She produced fifty coll and showed me.

"What are you two betting this time?" Asuna rejoined us.

"Argo says Shirou is late because of a girl. I doubt it." My smirk grew wider.

"I have to agree with _Maid-chan_ here." Yuki giggled.

"Don't call me _that_!"

"So is Kirito leaving yet?" Liz changed gears on the subject. The two girls face darkened considerably.

"Sorry I'm late." Shirou interrupted any answer with that damned smile of his. "And we will have to make a detour before heading to the maze…" He was carrying a bound redheaded girl on his back, and motioned to her. I didn't even had to ask.

Lizbeth, Asuna and Yuki just looked at the girl, than at Shirou with horrified faces.

Noticing the change in her audience the girl started shouting and crying in her most helpless tone: "Release me, you creep! Help! Help!" Funny thing when I knew her to be one of the most heartless, not to mention slippery, thieves of Aincrad. I had a list of thirteen who died because she stole their equipment in dangerous areas.

Some people gathered around, but when they saw Shirou, they kept a respectful distance.

"Nothing to see here guys, just an Orange being dragged to prison!" I shouted at then, and Kirito joined our side for good measure. Some guys did make to help, if only to get in the good graces of a player girl. And people wonder _how_ she got unpunished until now…

"So what now?" Asuna was the one to ask.

"Well, Rosalia-san here needs a ride to the dungeons of Black Iron Castle. Then we go to the maze?"

"Kirito could take her there." Yuki started in an annoyed tone, "And he could make us a favor and… _stay_ there!" then she finished in the harshest tone I ever heard her use.

Shirou looked like he wanted to say something, but he just shrugged and passed the prisoner to Ki-bou, who got into the teleport gate. I'm pretty sure he mouthed something, from Kirito's reaction though. Sneaky Shiro-kun.

Then he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Something I_ want_ to know?"

"The idiot joined a guild!" Yuki answered faster.

"Hum. That is quite a betrayal, alright." Shirou nodded. "Or perhaps, he had a reason… Maybe the guys needed help, and he offered to stay with them for a while?"

"You _knew_ it!" They turned at him, with looks that could very well start chipping my health bar on intensity alone.

"Not until yesterday night, no. Kirito saved then in a dungeon on the 18th floor, and they asked him to join." I could see him resisting the urge to scratch the back of his neck at their undivided attention "They wanted to level up and join the frontlines, much like Liz and Argo, so he offered to help. It's just temporary though."

Asuna looked as if reconsidering for a second, but Yuki just huffed and spoke once more: "Forget him. Let's make our own Guild. If he wants, he can join later. _If_…" She paused for a bit. "…he apologizes for leaving us."

"How about 'Knights of the Round'." Liz offered.

"I'm pretty sure they were _men_, Liz, besides someone should have probably picked that one already." Asuna giggled.

"Who knows?" At our looks, Shirou explained with a smile "…that the knights were men, I mean. Some could have been girls for all we know about them."

"Yeah, right. You've been reading too much gender bending stories Shirou." Lizbeth looked at him funnily.

* * *

I couldn't suppress my smile. Saber used that tactic quite a few times when Rin was angry, distracting her with something else until she forgot the reason, and in this specific case, her stories did even gave me the _means_. "Perhaps. You see, at that time being a woman and fighting as knight was grounds for execution. If a woman wanted to make to the battlefield, pretending to be a man was the only way." I shrugged theatrically.

"But, why couldn't the girl simply show how good of a warrior she was?" Yuki huffed indignantly. "They needed good warriors, so they would keep her for her skills, right?"

"Until she wasn't needed anymore, I give you that. We all know how well that worked for Joan of Arc, right?"

"You _do_ have a point." Argo nodded.

"Well that and some stories make much more sense if think from that point of view. Think of King Arthur and his knights, for example, legend says…"

* * *

"Wow Takami, your kid knows a lot about Arthurian Legends." Yume snorted. Matsu, and Uzume were eating popcorn and watching 'Aincrad Stories' as they dubbed it.

"Forget about the monitor." I snapped my fingers. "What did you found?"

"Nothing really. RCT have a previous version of the software, a few records of the improvements planned for the grand release, but they didn't know of anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite. As a matter of fact, that red-headed kid there is the owner's daughter. That Kayaba is nothing if not cautious." The scrap's fingers drummed on the hilt of her own blade.

* * *

"…And that would quite explain Guinevere and Lancelot's affair wouldn't it?"

"It still sounds absurd." Lizbeth giggled at the notion of Arturia being, well, a girl.

"But If I had a secret that could get me killed if discovered, and you knew about it, would you rat me out. No offense Argo." Said girl just waved it off.

Lizbeth on the other side looked _horrified_ at the notion. "Of course not! I _love_ you! And even if I_ didn't_ you saved my life too many times for me to even _think _about doing such a thing." All the other girls froze, but it seemed that her distressed brain didn't catch up with her mouth just yet.

* * *

"It's a soap opera I'm telling you!" Uzume laughed at the hacker's side.

"Yep, 'Shirou'-kun is most amusing." Matsu agreed.

"…What? Wait, Liz, I was just making a point here!" He couldn't be that dense could he? I mean, it was a _direct_ confession! "And the storied did say they saved each other's lives lots of times, so I'd think they would keep such secrets to their graves. I would in their place."

Argo's elbow met my son's stomach and she shot a pointed look at a furiously blushing Lizbeth. "Eh S-shi-shirou?" She stuttered.

"What? I knew _already_." Everyone changed their sights to him. "Er, I might not be the sharpest blade in the barrel, but you learn how to recognize the signs after a few dozen times." At least I don't need to have to smack him for being an idiot.

…Then my brain caught up with that last statement.

"_Dozen_ times!?" The girls voices came to the screen and mine also joined that chorus. My boy apparently was quite a player, without me knowing, no less! He was going to suffer, either for being an insensitive jerk to the girl or for never telling me such a thing.

"I can't take that back, can I?" He whined.

"Shirou…" He was cornered with his back to a tree. "Elaborate please. Have you being playing with maidenly hearts behind their backs?" Asuna put a blade to his neck without mercy, and even as his mother, I couldn't fault the girl: It was her _best friend_ enamored with my boy.

"What!? Nooo! I swear, they knew about each other!" Uzume gasped at that, as well as the girls in his little group, while Matsu giggled "How… _Kinky_."

"Shut it, Matsu. And raise the volume while you're at it. _I_ want to hear _that_ explanation."

"Who were they?" That Argo girl asked seemingly fighting to keep a level head.

"Rin and Saber." He sat by one of the trees, a somewhat defeated air on him. At some point I had closed my notebook's lid and the flat screen had my total attention. "Saber was the one who taught me how to fight." He paused a bit "I picked an absurd style I saw once, and she helped me forge it into a something I could use. Rin was the one who taught me… Everything else. She was always calling me stupid, dense, idiot. I guess I was. Especially when I made the wrong choice and left they behind."

"You're crying Shirou." I didn't even notice who pointed it out. Saber and Rin huh? I guess they broke up in bad terms if they didn't came to vis- Wait! They _never_ called home, or Airi would have told me.

"Sorry. I still miss those two."

"So… They were your girlfriends… before Aincrad."

"Yes. But we broke up before I came here."

Yuki sniffed "Two girlfriends at once, nii-san. And you never introduced me."

"Because of course, if I had two girlfriends, I'd introduce them to my sister who says she wants to _bed_ me." Argo snarked.

I couldn't suppress my own smirk, though the words came from Lizbeth's mouth. "Wiser words were never been spoken."

"I stand corrected." Uzume said in fake seriousness. "This is _waaay_ much better than a soap opera."

"Quiet, you two. Matsu, I need you to track these Saber and Rin, I also need Asuna's address on real-"

"Yuuki Asuna. Room 305. Lizbeth or Shinozaki Rika, Room 501, Argo, or Aikawa Shiori, room 103. All _local_ interns."

"You mean they're all _here_?" Uzume looked stunned for a moment.

"Yep." I only raised an eyebrow at her. "What? Matsu was curious about your son's harem."

I sighed. "I should have known it was_ that._"

"Matsu doesn't think she can do much with a couple of first names though."

"Well, better start soon then."

* * *

_-Town of the Beginnings-, -Black Iron Castle- Dungeons_

"You!?" I couldn't help but back down in surprise. The woman at my back squirmed a bit at the sudden motion.

"What!? Its you're and Reedie's fault that I'm even working here!" Kibaou's sharp voice rose in defiance. "A warrior of my caliber should be leading the forces on the clearing group, not babysitting-"

"Yeah, yeah." I cut his tirade before he picked momentum. "Here, you got another prisoner." I passed the bound woman to him, and couldn't resist the urge to joke, "And beware, she bites." getting an indignant growl in response.

"Fine, just go away." He put her inside one empty cell and then untied her. At least he knows how to work. I turned my back and left.

* * *

"Seems like you don't like him." The redheaded woman chuckled darkly.

"Shut up criminal."

"Oho! Seems like someone is mad!" She then faked an embarrassed posture, scratching the floor with the tip of her left foot. "But Jailor-san, I just wanted to get to know you better… aren't you going to be with us for a while?"

"I'd like to get to know you better!" Came a voice from another cell, along with a few catcalls. "Yeah baby! Come here so I show you how we can get along!" Her only response was a few rude gestures.

Kibaou's eyebrows twitched. "SHUT UP!" The laugher didn't stop, on the contrary, it got worse. "SHUT UP OR ILL PARALIZE YOUR SORRY ASSES!"

_That_ did the trick.

But he couldn't leave it be. He was too damn curious. "I guessing the black bastard got you here." At her scowl he added "And you obviously hate him for it."

"Nah, Black-kun just carried me here. It was… how did you called him? Reddie-san? Who caught me with a poisoned dagger."

"Your favored tactic from what I heard."

"Spare me the irony."

* * *

…_Days Latter…_

We entered undisturbed on the halls of Black Iron Castle, and stopped before the monument of life. The guards let us pass undisturbed, even with the order to check for suspicious movement in the city after the -PK-, no the _MURDER_ incident that shocked Aincrad the previous day.

We weren't suspicious after all, and no one would be crazy to commit a murder in the very halls or the largest of the Aincrad guilds. Let the prayers pray, if they think it would help the clearing group in any way.

The prayers kneeled and I swear the one to my left made the sign of the cross witch I made purposefully askew, using the movement to operate my menu inconspicuously.

Skill activated, I fell my consciousness fuzzy and muddle, like I was buried in cotton stuffing.

At the same time, my senses allowed me to focus on nearby places I shouldn't be able to enter undisturbed.

Oh, I LOVE this skill. The few users that unlocked this ability flaunted it around, and choose the flashiest ways to do it. I didn't use it to get friends, I made tools. It could be seen as heartless, but in this world were dying means, well, _dying_, it was a necessity. And no player was hurt for it.

Ironically, I happen to be so discrete that people was starting to think I had some sort of unique skill.

"Well, I just don't think is safe to keep him as jailor anymore." The woman, who seemed to be some sort of assistant, spoke to the leader of the -ALF-.

"No, no, don't get me wrong. I agree with you. I just said it's good that he opened his barriers to another person, despite the person in question being a criminal. It would do him some good." Thinker sighed. "Put Yukimaru as Jailor, but let Kibaou have access and some measure of privacy in talking to the girl."

So they are aware of the situation! I think I underestimated _the_ Thinker. Ki-bou will like the news too. Let's check on Kiba-ahou* now.

*(Kibaou means Fang King, Kiba-Ahou Fang Idiot)

* * *

… _Undisclosed location, Kayaba's hideout._

"Watching the video for the twentieth time will not help understanding whatever happened better than nineteen times before."

"It's just the fifth."

"What happened anyway?"

Kayaba paused and put the video on the starting marker. "Look at this player here."

"The redhead?"

"Yes, he." The creator of Aincrad sighed. "Remember when I told you about a player who choose to fight without -System Assistance-?"

"He is the one?"

"Yes, that is he."

She felt like pointing to him that he was obsessing over the boy, but choose to simple let him put his worries down. "What did he do… _this time_?" She offered.

"Remember the 28th's boss?"

"The scorpion's King, whose name I forgot." Then her face loosened in a smile. "He completed the side quest! You're mad because you lost that bet to Tamamura!"

"I'm not mad. And that is _irrelevant_. It's _how_ he did it." Another sigh. "Remember what I have planned to use the boss for?"

"Draw the boss in a retreat through the mountain cliff, holding the line until you get to the ground level, using the act of bravery to justify your unlocking of -Holy Sword-." She recited from memory. "I still think you only wanted to prevent people from closing that side quest."

The man shook his head wearily at the attempt of humor of his subord- , no, _accomplice_: "It was also to prevent someone else from doing it, and keep people from dying senselessly from a boss who wasn't designed to be part of a death game. You know how Tamamura designed the damn thing, that -Epic Downhill Struggle- feeling he mentioned. Now look at this:"

He played the video. And his memories of the incident surfaced…

* * *

…_28th floor, Northern Cliffs Maze, A few hours earlier…_

"According to the NPC information, once we unlock the door, we will be on the boss' room already, so keep your heads up, because we don't have scouting information on this one." I spoke seriously. Two more of the -Lion Clan Elite Guards- launched themselves at us, and I noticed that a large player with an axe simply threw both of them off the cliff _barehanded_.

One turn and two more guards later, and we got to the door. A few players crossed to the other side, and a few of them positioned themselves to push the door. He unlocked the bolt, and drew his weapons.

As expected, when the first rays of light entered the den the boss shrieked and stomped forward, forcing the doors outward.

Completely unexpected though, was Shirou's reaction (and reaction _speed_!) in jumping in front of one of the opening doors, taking the hit from one of the more fragile players, drawing his straight blade, and using the arrow-like point to hook the door's decorative chains and save them both from a deadly fall.

In _less_ than a second.

Stunned almost beyond belief, I nearly ignored the system message that flashed on my screen showing that the -Battle Continuation- -Unique Skill- had been unlocked. Surprisingly enough, the little damage caused by the door completed the damage quota to unlock the first 100 points of said skill, milliseconds before his quick thinking on using the sword to prevent their fall qualified him for the -Dual Blades-…

Much closer to the boss, he took the -Aggro- upon himself, and jumped on said boss' head, throwing the player in our direction. The boss' AI, however, was programmed to not be helpless on such an event, and advanced to the cliff's side, standing on the nearly vertical stone wall, while the less stunned players started throwing things at it.

Shirou was hanging on the scorpion's armor joints, nearly two hundred meters over a rocky bottom, and he still evaded the sting twice.

Seemingly not satisfied on it being impossible enough, he jumped off, materializing two medium level daggers from his inventory and sticking to the wall, then jumping into one of the small platforms that made the place good for acquiring the -Climbing- -Extra Skill-.

The scorpion followed, and he started drawing more weapons from his menu and using them as steeping aids to get to a wider point. _Away_ from us.

He was between a boss and the _end_ of the floor, but he still didn't seem scared. Choosing his two favored curved blades, he parried and evaded two attacks, before he once more jumped on the large Arachnid's back and pinned the offending tail's taking a spear from seemingly nowhere.

I guess I should have made a -Unique Skill- of changing weapon styles quickly. He certainly made that look suitably incredible.

The boss shook him of again, and he was almost stomped a few times, before he got on his feet with a shield in his hands.

His sister, if memory serves me right, was sitting stunned along with another pink haired girl, their legs probably weak as jelly in this _unreal _situation.

Instead of trying to hold the boss at bay, he ran for the less slanted side of the cliff and used the shield as a board to escape. Another impossibly quick weapon draw prevented him from falling _out of Aincrad entirely_ this time with a scythe, but reversed his 'rockboarding' to the more vertical side of the place.

Let it be noted, to the monster's claws too.

It was insane, in both self-control and quick thinking that he managed not only to avoid hitting any of the boss' legs and its claws, but he even made the boss _trip_.

He was only human though, and didn't notice the small piece jutting out of the cliff side (I haven't noticed before watching the server recording either), and he changed his slide to the skies.

He met the sandy floor at least 300 meters away, between us and a small village of NPC's who were supposed to be the first target to the boss' rampage.

He was mere three strikes from death, thanks to his newly acquired skill.

The boss also was near death, having landed on the sharp rocks on the bottom of the crag, but he had drawn enough -hate- into himself that the creature disregarded everything and ran through the distance keen on ripping him to pieces.

Giving the distance he had time to regain his bearings though, and apparently he refused to back down even when unarmed!

The boss jumped, and so did he, grabbing his own spear that was still sticking from the large creature's back and pushed it though the monster's head at the same time its sting impaled him.

The boss exploded in the customary polygon's shower. Two of the girls fainted. The other put her hands to her heart.

My brain finally caught up and I exhaled when the adrenaline effects faded.

"Well, at least he is alive, right?" I offered to still conscious girl.

* * *

"So he soloed a boss you thought you'd have to hold at bay _yourself_, unlocked just the skill he _needed_ to survive _while_ at it and still prevented the NPC village from getting stomped, _all of it_ while fighting_ without_ the -System Assistance-?" She asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"Boy, he is _good_, I give him that." I felt mildly annoyed at her laugh. "O-oh, don't worry, you'd have other chances to unlock your skill. You can simply say it appeared on your skill list too, if that's so much of a bother."

"What worries me is to think they're getting too attached to the boy. And if he continues to be reckless like that, he won't be among us for long."

"With luck like _that_, not to mention that level of ability? I bet he survives." Her smile morphed into a smirk.

"I doubt. Out of battle, he doesn't seem to take things seriously. Not to mention he is member of a guild where he is the _only_ man."

"With _all_ the things to be bothered at, _that_ is what bothers you?!" Laughter filled out cot once more. "You have me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I'm eternally grateful for that."

Silence reigned for a few moments, then another chuckle.

"What happened later?"

"It was so unexpected and hilarious that the entire clearing group laughed it off:"

* * *

It took us a few moments for the two girls to regain their senses, and for us to manage to reach the bottom end of the ravine. A few of the clearing group had left to activate the 29th's teleport gate, but other than that small party, most of them were with us as we reached the small tent village.

I wasn't ready for the sight before me when we did: Shirou was laying down in a pile of colorful cushions, more than a dozen girls in those Arabian 'harem' outfits, pampering and caressing him in every way allowed by his still activated -Ethic Code-.

Let it be said before anything, that my opinion of Tamamura dropped from competent and creative programmer to _pervert_. His description of the reward said that if the heroes managed to keep the small villa from being destroyed the NPC's of there would be _friendly_ towards their saviors. In hindsight he was granted way too much leeway.

Friendly? …riiight.

"A little help here?" He asked, breaking the shock of the clearers.

"Way to go boy!" A Samurai joked with a catcall. "Share a bit of that luck with us will ya?"

Kirito tossed a -Status Healing Crystal- to the paralyzed player with a shake of his head. "Only you Shirou. Only you."

Then his black haired companion seemed to wake up to the scene playing in front of her: "Release my onii-chan you hussies!" This seemed to prompt the other girls of his group to join the tug of war.

The healing crystal? It was lying forgotten on the floor. Go figure.

* * *

"Are you okay now?" The nurse took the cup from her boss' shaking hands.

"Yes, I'm _perfectly fine_. I just witnessed my son _almost dying __**ten times**__ in less than __**five minutes**__!_ I'm 'kay, really." The tone was strained, dipped and laced with sarcasm.

"Knock it off Takami! He made it didn't he?" The only conscious male in the room laughed it off. "And he was amazing, like those epic scenes from Anime we used to watch when we were children. _EPIC! Magnificent!"_

Then there was a flying clipboard, and no more conscious males on the room.

"Tehe, nice shot!" I chuckled. "The _freak_ have a point though. It's no use crying over what you cannot change, is it?" I tried to calm the still seething mother

"How would you feel if it was _your_ precious Chiho there?" She spat with the venom of an angry mother.

My voice faltered and my smile faded. "I don't know."

She inclined her head condescendingly. And I felt my chest inflate with the pride and confidence in my precious Ashikabi-to-be: "But I will soon enough, she said she was Aiming to join the clearers." I let a triumphant smile show in my face "And I promise to you I will never doubt her, like you did your son then. She _will__** live**_, she _will __**win**_, and then she will _claim_ me."


	9. Improvement

_**CHAPTER 5 - IMPROVEMENT**_

* * *

_…May 10, 20th Floor, Green Moss Caves, ten days after the 29th boss fight…_

"Come on! You can do it!" Keita shouted at the girl, when she jumped back evading the -Rock Eater-'s claw swipe. I tracked her movements and life closely, ready to jump in should she-

I'd say get in danger, but she just freaked and backed down. The worm-like monster made to strike, but I stole a page of Shirou's book and impaled it to the floor with a thrown spear.

Leaving the other guys to take care of the downed beast, I kneeled near the embarrassed girl.

"Sorry, I, I…"

"Don't worry. I told Keita it was a bad idea. Let's go back to -Sunshine Forest-."

"Come on! We're leveling up just fine!" Ducker laughed.

"I agree with Kirito here. These worms are just _disgusting_." But Tetsuo shuddered.

"We came here to help Sachi level up, guys. If she finds the monsters easier there, we should go there." Keita kneeled by our side. "What do you say?"

"Ah, I…" She looked at all of us. "I want the bugs to go away!" She shouted embarrassed.

"Okay…" I said. Hum, she dislikes bugs then? "How about golems?" I said aloud.

"Golems?"

"Yeah, there is this quest three floors up, which is really easy, and we fight a corridor of golems, one at time and they give quite a nice amount of -EXP-." I frowned. "Buut…" I raised a hand. "You must watch out for the boss, and leave him to me. And If I say retreat you retreat_alright_?"

"And they are not slimy or icky in the least, right Kirito-san?" Sachi asked me with hopeful eyes.

"Well…" I just shrugged. "They're made of rock."

* * *

_… two days later, Black Iron Castle Dungeons…_

"Rosalia-san, you have a visitor." I said to the imprisoned woman.

"Ahn, how cute… Your boyfriend came to see you again Rose-chan!" A deep voice came from the inner cells of the castle's dungeon. "Are you going to give us a peepshow today?"

"Shut up, ya jerkass!" Kibaou rattled his blade on the bigmouth cell's bars. Then his tone changed completely. "I'm back, like I promised." I admit she is an attractive woman, but from what I heard she killed a _lot_of people.

Well, orders are orders… "I'll be by the door if you need me…"

* * *

_… three days later, 30th Floor, Forest of the Ents…_

"Say, whose bright idea was this?" Lizbeth smashed a tree in rage.

"Come on Liz, focus on the moving ones…" I try to pacify our Mace master.

"I have to agree with her, Shirou. They're many, but they're weak." Asuna shook her head.

"I told you to let me come alone."

"Not a chance!" The three girls answered in synchrony.

"_Okay_…" I rolled my eyes. They're still mad because my stunt two floors below it seemed.

"No onii-chan, is _not_okay." Yuki smashed another -Wood Golem- "And you're not running solo until we're sure you're not going to jump in front of danger and get yourself _killed_."

"Fair enough." I used a -Sonic Leap- to destroy one and bashed my shield on another, forcing it back. "That means you're going to leave the frontlines though. Argo got a lead on that PK incident two weeks ago."

"She did!? How?" Yuki was surprised, and almost got a hit for it. Liz stomped the golem and bashed with her mace though.

"Yuki! Focus!" Asuna called, while applying one of her combo Skills on a particular close group.

As the last one of the small fries was destroyed, we regrouped, forming an arc of shields with Asuna in the middle. I'm starting to get used to this sword and shield, even if I revert to -Critical Blades-, as Kirito called it, if I'm not paying attention.

The large -True Ent- emerged from the canopy with a roar, his high size shaking the nearby tree's and making a cacophony of wood breaking noises.

We advanced. The shining trails of different sword skills marked the air, and the combined impact threw the monster to the ground. Asuna then lifted her Rapier and applied the -Last Attack- to the monster, satisfying the requirements to the quest.

"Who is left now?" Liz shrugged while tying her mace to her belt.

"Just Argo and me, I think." I opened a screen to unequip the shield and sword, and bring a dagger to my hand. "What now?"

"Hand the quest over, and go home to sleep." Asuna said, and Yuki perked up.

"I call dibs!"

I sweatdrop. "No, Yuki, you're _not_sleeping with me."

"Why can't I?! Silvine and the others can!" She puffed her cheeks and blew me a raspberry

_Who_?" I asked before it dawned on me. "They are NPCs, and only because I haven't managed to find a way for them to stop." I twitched.

"Not that you seem to mind it…" Lizbeth didn't cut me any slack.

I have been putting this conversation for too long by now. "I don't." If that's how you want to play…

"So you admit?" Asuna frowned.

I just shrugged. Maybe if she thinks I'm some sort of pervert, Liz will focus into someone else and follow with her life. I'm not going to be here forever, and it would be very inconsiderate of me to leave her behind.

…Like I did to Saber, Rin and my Sekirei.

I took out our -Haven Crystal- and activated it, moving myself to our common house in the Oasis Villa on the 28th floor. As I appeared, the local NPCs flocked around me trying to offer any sort of favors I could want.

"You look like hell warmed over." Argo's voice snapped out of my thoughts. "The girls were jealous again?" She giggled while slapping one of the NPC's below the waist line to get her out of the way.

"I'm not the right person for her, Argo." I looked at her somewhat divided between sad and happy expression before I added: "Neither for you."

Her mouth opened and closed for a few moments before she came to terms with what I said. Then she shrugged, which kind of surprised me. "I didn't hope to fool you for so long. You did say _Dozen Times_."

"What makes you think I didn't know _all along_?" I accepted the cup of tea one of the, I guess I could call her servants or maybe maids, provided and masked my amused smile with it.

"You can fool them, but not _me_." She picked a cup too, but spoke before drinking it: "You're afraid to die and leave Li-, _us_ alone, isn't that?" She seated in our main room, burying herself in the comforters and pillows scattered around.

"I'm afraid that even if I don't die, we wouldn't see each other again." I admitted sadly.

"You love me, or her back?!" Her cup suddenly became acquainted with the floor, and her face turned very, _very_red.

"Not in that way, I think. But I'm not the best person when it comes to drawing that line." I admitted softly.

"I don't understand." She admitted in shame.

I struggled to think of what to say, and then no more as I was hit by a flash of inspiration.

_"I'm but a sword,"_ I intoned softly _" I've walked many roads, I've fought many enemies, Not once I've retreated, Nor once I've been victorious."_

"I don't understand." She repeated.

"Neither do I, but is who _I am_." I admitted without shame.

* * *

_… 11th floor, Taft, a few hours later._

"Can I count on you for the plan?"

"Yes, of course. I hate the bastard as much as you do."

"Then be ready for after tomorrow and bring the -Corridor Crystal-"

… two days later…

"Kusano-chan, Miya will complain if she finds you in my bed again." I woke up buried in the softness of multiple female bodies. The small girl twitched in my arms. "And no choking Musubi." I forced the embrace on my neck to change into a less uncomfortable position by turning to my well-endowed Sekirei.

Then it dawned on me that this 'Kusano' happened to have slightly curly hair and this Musubi was below the hundred mark in the bust.

I shot up and backed down, tripping on another girl in revealing top and see-through silk pants.

Even as my backside got acquainted with the floor amidst the moans and a gasp, I left a sigh of relief. I was just 'my harem' as my sister put it.

"What's with the noise?" Speak of the devil… No, it was just Lizbeth. In _underwear_. I twitched more.

"So you're ok flashing him?" My sister voice came way to cheerful from the direction of my bed, and Lizbeth looked at herself.

Then she _SCREAMED_.

* * *

"You guys are way too noisy in the morning…" Argo smirked. "I'd say get a room… but you did. Just remember to lock the door, or close the curtains in this case.

Liz was nearly self-combusting.

I just took the teasing in stride.

Thankfully for her, we were saved of this potentially dangerous conversation by something, a message I think, which forced Argo to bring her menu and type something for a few moments. Considering her face's expression, those were quite dire news:

"There has been a Jailbreak in the Black Iron Castle. One of the members of ALF is dead, and the other is missing." Argo paused. "Kibaou is the missing one."

A serious air descended over the room instantly, cutting all the idle chatter and teasing. 'Ok, I'm not thankful anymore.'

"Please tell me they're considering the possibili-" I didn't realize I was speaking until she cut me off.

"Yes, there is a reward for bringing the guy alive and the others already have theirs put up again." She seemed a bit surprised at my reaction. Oh, it's the first time she sees my 'battle mode' out of the rare boss battle meetings she attended. "More important, he wishes to hire the - Avalon Knights- to find the whereabouts of the runaways."

"Tell him we accept." Asuna's voice cut sharp as a blade. "If they are coming after us, and I suspect they are, we're not going to wait idly until they have our backs to stab."

"We should be discreet though, so we can take them by surprise." I offered.

"So we're like L' following the trail of a suspect?!" Yuki cut the tension with one of her own obscure anime references, which by Argo's seemed to get by her laugh.

"More like Kira actually," She answered. "…don't let they know about you, act normally, and figure out their names and if possible, where they are." Argo winked to Yuki, and I exchanged a look and a shrug with Asuna and Lizbeth.

* * *

… _May 26, 30th Floor, Eastern Marsh…_

"Are you sure this is safe, Kirito-san?" Keita asked me for what felt like the twentieth time. "This is only a single floor below the frontlines!"

"Yes, but as I said before, this is one of those places that the environment is more dangerous than the mobs. I can dispatch one of the smaller trolls here with two or three strikes." I waved his concerns. "You only have to be careful in bringing a map and a -Teleport Crystal- in case you get lost. As for the bigger trolls, pot, switch, and prefer evasion to damage if they turn red. And once we finish the quest, we get the high quality materials to upgrade our weapons."

"Yeah, come on boss! We can take it!" Ducker pumped his fist in the air.

I turned to the left trail and guided them deeply in the muddy forest. The sound of metal grinding against rock and wood signaled we're approaching another party, in the middle of a battle.

I couldn't be more wrong.

It wasn't a party, and it wasn't a battle. I stood like petrified, and I saw a single slip of a girl, long straw colored hair, thigh-high boots, elbow gloves and a light green cheongsam _dancing_ in the middle of the trolls, her spear skills lighting the shallow pond at regular intervals, tearing through them like they were made of _wet paper_.

It was a slaughter.

She evaded low, then spun supporting herself in the shaft of her weapon, her legs lashing out and caching one of the monsters with the unarmed skill -Heaven's Fall-, then she spun her weapon behind her back and lowered her torso forward, using the blunt end to unleash another skill smacking the face of one advancing enemy, and them the bladed tip to cut the hand of the one charging a skill at her back. With her momentum ended, she brought the weapon parallel to her stretched leg and them up in a sweeping strike, finishing the last of the trolls.

Then she spoke with the captured NPC, collected her reward, and was gone in a crystal teleport effect.

I twitched. I have to ask Argo about her later. Those skills weren't spear skills. And she was fighting like _six_ of them! That is insane!

"You saw that?" Sasamaru cheered from my side. "That girl kicks ass! I never knew you could do that with a spear!"

"Yeah, she was like whoosh, and then she kicked the bastard on the shin, and then her blade skrrt and his hand was gone!" Ducker mimicked with exaggerated motions.

"And she was pretty cute too! Man! I should have asked for her contact!" Sasamaru whined as we laughed it off.

I signaled them to stop. "Ok, Ok. Now that you're done ogling the girl who isn't even here anymore, get ready because the trolls will be back soon." I saw Sachi send me a weird look as I was sure she noticed me as entranced by the showdown as them.

The trolls came, and I tried to help their morale by attacking along, but I shouldn't have bothered. I don't know which kind of magic that girl did, but even Sachi, who was usually afraid of taking the lead, stood forward and advanced on the newly spawned monsters.

An icon flashed in my peripheral vision, and I finished off the troll immediately closer before taking a few steps back and looking at the general picture. They're doing fine.

I opened the message.

_We have a problem. Kiba-ahou took Rosalia out of Jail, and he is plotting something. We need help finding him. Can we count on you? -A_

"Kirito-kun!" Sachi's voice brought me out of my distracted state to find that they already get rid of all the monsters and closed the quest.

"Eh, sorry. I got distracted."

She held my hand and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll go back to your friends soon." She looked to the side for an instant. "And we will be with you."

"Ah… Ok." I think she is misunderstanding something here…

"Yeah, and maybe I will manage to find that cutie on the frontlines!" Sasamaru cheered. "And I'll totally ask her number!"

* * *

… _July 29, 28th floor, White Sand Desert, northern side._

"Are we really meeting Argo. _THE_ Argo!?" Kirito-san nodded at my companion's question.

"And we're going to get weapons for the next boss raid from a couple of friends of mine, Yes." I send a mock pitying look at Kirito, but couldn't keep from shaking inside. We did it. We're finally going to the frontlines. I should be happy, I should be proud, but I can't help but be nervous and afraid, even if Kirito says we're capable.

"See it over there?" He pointed a tall cliff that closed this side of the floor's edge. "That is where the boss of this level was. It quite a battle." He chuckled with an amused face.

"So you got many hits in?" "Did you got the LA?" The other guild members focused they attention on him. He just shook his head.

"Nope. One crazy player agro the boss all by himself, and fought him alone on the cliffs, winning with just a sliver of life on himself."

"Hey! I heard that once! It was the -Immortal Swordsman- right?" Tetsuo seemed even more interested than before. Well, the guy is kind of his idol from what he said.

"Yeah, that one. Though is 'Immortal Knight' or 'Invincible Swordsman' from what I've heard."

"Same thing, mr. 'Black Swordsman', 'Wandering Knight' or the 'Boss Beater'." Kirito put his hand to his face. He always hated being called by his titles.

He then pointed the Oasis we noticed earlier and changed the subject. "We're here."

"Wow, look at all those girls around!" Ducker pointed at the NPC ladies in the skimpy outfits. I'm pretty sure women don't dress like this in the Middle East.

I walked with Kirito to the green eyed girl with the small balloon icon where her lifebar should be. Well at least she was wearing a proper shirt, even if she has an unsettling smile.

"Hello Traveller! How could this humble one could be of assistance?"

Kirito answered straight to the point as he taught us to do. "I'm looking for Argo, Shirou and Lizbeth. Are any of them around?"

"I never thought you'd walk around with a fan club, Ki-bou." A small blonde walked out of the tent right behind the NPC, and motioned for us to enter. "Welcome to our humble abode." She motioned to the magnificent tent around us, then to one of the cushion piles scattered in the main room. "Shirou and Liz are out, I was just leaving myself. What do you need?"

"Nice to see you too, still well after so long…" He muttered in a sarcastic tone.

Keita and the others choose to enter at that moment, and were as impressed as I was at the amazing guild home they had.

"Well, I happen to monitor the stats of all my interesting contacts every week or so. So is less time for me than it was for you. 'sides, Shirou did said you're doing fine when you met in the 34th boss fight meeting."

"Ok. She just says that she's stalking you!" Sasamaru shivered. "That is just _creepy_." I can agree with that.

Argo's, I think that was her at least, look would be considered murderous by that point "Not _stalking_. Keeping tabs, and my info up-to-date. I don't need to stalk, ne." She then focused on Kirito. "You said you needed weapons and armor right?"

"No, I didn't really said it. But you deduced right. Mine is good for the next floor or so, but theirs need upgrading badly. I'd also like info on the boss, and the minions." I politely took the tea from another NPC girl.

"You're bringing them to fight the boss!?" Argo choked on her tea.

"Not yet." Kirito rolled his eyes. "They just reached the security margin. But they're going to help with the minions, and watching a boss fight before being in one helped Lizbeth a lot."

"Point." She smiled. "Well, Shirou and Liz left a bit of equipment selling here and an NPC taking care of the shop. Come along, I'll show you around. "

* * *

I shared a look with Yuki, and she nodded. Sending a message to Shirou and Liz, we approached the seemingly abandoned house with our -Teleport Crystals- ready.

I sneaked around and looked through the window while Yuki _kicked_ the door open wither mace at ready.

Its _karma_ I swear. "Yuki, if the door can open, a push will suffice as much as a kick." At the lack of well, anything, I sheathed my rapier.

"But kicking is so much more bad*ss!"

"Urk." I looked around. There's no dust or anything to mark how long this place has gone without use, but judging by the position of the chairs or the overall look and feel of the cot, this place was inhabited sometime in the past. "Looks like is another dead end."

"Home then?" Yuki at least had the grace of look sheepish.

"No, there's three more places to check." She sighed. "Then leveling. I want to reach 50 before we get to 37th floor, and keep increasing the margin."

* * *

They haven't let me _near_ the door that time. We kept attacking the boss, -Growler, The Ogre King-, while other parties focused on his goblin minions. His hammer skills were kind of troublesome, but we were aware of them, and stayed out of reach. By alternating parties, we kept the rage low and most of the attacks general area strikes instead of Player targeting Skills.

"Yeah! One more sucker to into the sack!"

"Yuki, language." I admonished. No one seemed to care much, since they were most boys, except for our party, Kirito's guild girl, and that Solo player that struck the boss last.

If I could only place _where_ did I saw her before…

* * *

"See, Chiho is awesome! Boss or not boss, as long as she have a spear, nothing can stand on her way!" Uzume pumped her fist in the air.

"I'm relieved my son is behaving with more restraint too." I left the room to deliver a few papers due tomorrow to the engineering sector.

Minaka was right out of the door.

"What do you want?" I asked before thinking.

"Just checking out on the kids." He answered uncharacteristically serious. I immediately took note that the cameras of the corridor were off.

"Why do you care? You're _not_ their father. You renounced that right long ago."

"Eh? I'm helping, am I not?" He suddenly turned his boisterous self.

"If you call sneaking up at night and injecting _my_ kids with weird concoctions and putting them through weird procedures then no, you're _not _helping."

"_Our_ kids."

"Whatever. I'm going to engineering and you're not to be left with alone them." I grabbed his collar and started pulling him with me.

"Takamii… Takami-chan?" While he whined and kicked as a child.

* * *

I looked at Matsu while she typed some commands on a console and frowned at her lack of disregard for her supposed Ashikabi-to-be. Here he was, a prime example of male specimen, _bathing_ himself (not that _I_ care), and she was there operating a boring terminal.

Strange enough by itself, even_ stranger_ considering that she acted the complete opposite when Takami was around.

As she didn't seem to care, I changed to another channel, or player in case. We couldn't do more than watch, but boy, we could _watch_. This terminal was linked to some sort of supercomputer in the basements (one of them at least), which according to my hacker friend duplicated and processed every information received or send to Aincrad and turned them into images. Not only we could watch through the eyes of every player around here, but we could also project viewpoints to see them from afar. As easy as changing channels.

Flipping and surfing around, I stopped once I got a nice view of the _other_ Avalon Knights also in a relaxing bath. Shirou was a lucky bastard. Those girls were quite cute, and would only grow as time goes on…

I looked back to Matsu, and she hasn't even noticed the changes in the sounds coming from the screen. I don't know if her guard was just lower when the two of us where together, or if it she was simply uncaring as I couldn't make head or tails of that weird programming language.

I _could_ however, understand more than I let on. She was plotting _something_. What I didn't know, is if she knew I knew that she knew something was happening, or she took me not only for ignorant but _stupid_ too.

Well, I'm not asking here or now, and there are more _delighting_ matters to focus on the moment. Like Yuki's enjoyment of skinship between friends…


	10. Interlude

_**INTERLUDE - DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT VIEWS**_

* * *

Chihiro couldn't be considered a good player at first. She struggled to take her first steps into this new world, having not walked in a long time, only walking on her own was a challenge, but looking around and enjoying the sound and sights were everything she could ever want as a prize for that challenge.

Then, as if her dream turned into a nightmare, came the sunset, and the great opening announcement of SAO: Die here, NerveGear kills you for real.

She panicked hard, ran into the fields with strength she didn't knew she had and almost got killed by a minor field boss in her very first day. Spending the night in a secluded, but cold, wet and uncomfortable place she prayed someone, _anyone_ would find and save her.

One boy did.

Red messy hair, golden eyes which sparkled in happiness at seeing her alright and alive, he fed her, took her back to the city and helped her find a group and learn the basics of the game.

As she later realized, SAO wasn't worse of a risk than her own condition out. Only in this world her life depended more on _her_ skills and smarts than doctors and medicine.

Armed with that knowledge and will, she set out with a few acquaintances, training to be able to hold herself in a fight. She didn't want to make a name for herself, or be famous like the clearing group that reached the tenth floor and continued upwards. She just wanted to enjoy the game, her new-found abilities and freedom.

Maybe meet _that_ boy again. Unlike the greater portion of her acquaintances, he didn't treat her well_ because_ she was a girl, yet he made her feel her very life was precious and valuable, _regardless_ of her gender. He made her feel _special_.

And he had those _eyes_ she couldn't simply forget.

She met him again, alright. Just not in the way she wanted. Wandering alone in the beautiful lakes of the twentieth second floor north was one of her favorite past times when she wasn't leveling or questing, and it was one of the safest and quietest places she knew in Aincrad.

As she was considering saving money and buying one of those cots for herself, she was surprised by another player. He claimed to have feelings for her, but his eyes only looked at her body and made her feel dirty. She denied him, he tried to force her.

She had heard stories of such things happening, but so few and far in between that in her own silliness she hasn't though it would happen to her.

Thankfully it _didn't_. Her golden eyed hero heard her cries somehow, dragging the scum off her, beating it to an inch of his life and then carrying it away to the prison.

She cried herself into sleep for days afterward, but when she got over that, she made a decision to never be caught like that again. She trained, mastered the skills she had, got others to complement her flaws and then mastered those too. She sworn to herself to join the frontlines, to meet her twice savior and to tell him the feelings that warmed her in the nights she spent alone with her thoughts…

Only to be _disappointed_.

Her knight was strong, sure. No weak player could be a part of the clearing groups.

He was handsome. She could still feel her face heating from mere eye contact and her heart speeding up at the thought of him…

He was polite and nice to everyone around him, and people seemed to hold him in high regard, not only because those girls around him.

But he wasn't like the stories she _heard_ of him. They spoke of an unexplained devotion in saving people, of a bravery that held back _bosses_ by himself and even defeated one _alone_! She was starting to think she more imagined than saw the intensity of his eyes before, or that maybe that boy only_ looked like_ her Knight…

She have dreamed of fighting by his side, being by his side, then he would smile at her sweep her feet from the ground and carry her to his place, where they would get to know each other…

She left a very unladylike growl of annoyance and her pillow met the wall.

Why every time she had a new reason to fight and live on this world _denied_ her happiness?

* * *

Argo didn't consider herself special. She was she was petite, with light brown hair, and light brown eyes, uncommon features she blamed on her grandfather being a gaijin. Many would say she was cute at her previous school, and she even got her share of proposals inside SAO too. Her defining trait however, was not her appearance, but her insatiable curiosity.

Give her an interesting subject and the means to learn more about it and she will end with information about it that would leave a normal person thoroughly impressed. She also possessed a keen mind, and the ability to notice small details and turn them into even more information. And she never refused a chance to learn information.

Matsu wasn't exactly a woman, though she was very much female. She was somewhat middle height, redhead with light brown eyes that could appear gold or pink depending of the way light hit them. She had a very curvaceous figure (as had most of the Sekirei), and used glasses just for the sake of keeping an appearance. Her defining traits were her curiosity, perverseness and childish personality. She never felt the need to refuse information or restrain her curiosity.

Both had started noticing something months ago. From different points of view, looking at different details, but both noticed a scary pattern: Aincrad was _changing_.

Argo noticed that as far as NPCs go in ways of looking more human than mere 3d models, they were still limited in their ability to interact with player characters. They would say one or two phrases voluntarily, answer concise questions, maybe figure out a more complex worded request or so. On the first six months. Then things were getting confuse.

Her first clue something was changing was when she asked the wrong NPC (well someone pointed the wrong NPC for her) for quest info instead of the right, nearby one. Instead of the traditional '_I don't know/I'm not sure_' the NPC farmer just pointed at the other, and said he would know more. Simple, and to the point, such an answer wouldn't get more than a shrug out of her, if it came from a _Player_. NPCs were usually programmed in terms of _Yes_ and _No_ conditionals, and for one of them to say something as that was surprising.

Then Shirou got a home out of a secret boss reward in the 28th floor, and he agreed to officially form their guild to allow them to use the place. It was almost an _entire village_, probably because it was supposed to be split between the winners, and the variety and amount of NPCs (mostly _girls_), left her with interesting test subjects.

Silvine was one of her favorites, maybe because her mischievous smile and bright eyes. Or maybe because her choice of attire was less revealing. She had noticed that if she repeated a simple question three or four times over a week, then the NPC would most likely have the answer somehow on the next time.

She could answer to common conversations such as about the weather, general state of the surroundings or the presence of someone in their encampment, and she would offer tea, snacks and offer a seat… sometimes.

It was amazing how_ human-like_ she sounded nowadays.

And it scared Argo. Either the -Cardinal- was spending more processing power in the NPCs patterns to make the game more immersive, or someone was manipulating the game from the outside, not only changing the environment in noticeable ways, but also checking out for player requests and actively _responding_ to them.

She was expending as much time figuring this little puzzle she discovered as she was spending searching for the whereabouts of Kibaou, Roselia and the other runaways. Not that the two tasks were unrelated. She figured out she could 'train' a few NPCs in each city to recognize the wanted individuals and inform her when she asked about them.

Matsu compared the raw streams exchanged between the nervegear and the server during the last three months, noticing little pattern changes over time. A small increase in the sensorial definition input, some adjustments in the overall stream error correction control data, and another on the expression feedback engine.

It could be attributed to the tension level increasing on higher floors if it was only something on the player side, but if it included the _server_ side of the data, something only the tech savvy players would be even aware, then it was more likely someone was altering Aincrad code entirely.

More like_ something_. Kayaba couldn't have that much manpower to spare and still be concealed to the point MBI, JSDSF and Interpol couldn't find him. And the alterations spoke of complete sweeps of the code being done monthly and patches being released seamlessly, something that should require the effort of a team of experts or maybe a self-aware AI on the very server.

She looked at another section of the stream. Biomonitor functions have increased their sensibility over nearly 2%. Motor response sensitivity increased in 6%, and even transmission speed increased in nearly 1%.

Scary.

She considered the prototype MBI _'requested'_ (using Yume? Request, yeah, pfft!) from RCT and she was given to experiment. Lighter, expected because of the absence of the battery. Faster, _no_, Nervegear design in that aspect was beat the Amusphere soundly. So did the older machine beat the newer in the stability and robustness.

Maybe if she made her own tweaks?

* * *

Shirou on the other hand, was anything but a simple person. He liked to cook, he was a good and pleasant person, but there was more to it. There was something deeper, there was a motivation that drove his thoughts and actions. Something that Argo failed to see, and Matsu failed to understand, something that was starting to drive Takami nuts as she couldn't understand why her child changed that much.

Kirito was simply the one to give to voice the question.

It was a day like any other, and he and his guild companions have come to have their equipment repaired. Lizbeth was taking care of it and Shirou was discussing the finer points of dressing with Yukari, specifically why wearing armor with that little coverage (despite the high defense) wasn't advised. She wasn't taking it nicely though:

"Like you care for things like safety or what other people's think! You nearly kill yourself every boss battle!" She snapped back.

"At least I don't wear a bikini made of steel with attached plates and call it _armor_!" The boy nearly shouted back.

* * *

That clothing, if it could be called so, was reminding me too much of a previous experience for my comfort.

"It was my first LA bonus and I'm keeping it!" I stomped away ignoring her shouts. Reaching the margin of the oasis, I decided to sit by a palm tree and wait for myself to calm.

"She is pretty stubborn." Kirito sat a few meters to my right.

"You have no idea."

"I do. My sister isn't very easy to deal either." He sighed. "I remember one instance where she chased me halfway through the house with a shinai because I commented on her choice of underwear."

"Why did you even noticed something like _that_?" I let my horror color my tone high pitched.

"What? I was putting the clothes in the washing machine!" He answered completely red faced.

"Oh. Alright then." I have gone through enough similar situations on the past to sympathize with that.

"She does make an interesting question though. Why are you like this Shirou?"

"Like what?" I asked even though I knew the answer. Alice had complained of it, one of my previous commanders has joked and commented on occasion, that perverted mercenary has made fun of my ideals, and nearly every people that I lived with asked at one point or another…

"Do you _want_ to die?" He asked with a frown.

Ok, no one was ever _this _blunt. Except for Rin, I think. Damn my limited memory. "_No_."

"Th-"

"But I wouldn't _mind _it…" I said with a sad smile.

"What!?"

"…If I knew my death would allow another person to live." I took a deep breath and motioned him to wait when he seemed to gather air to speak. "Have you ever been near to death?"

"Well, my life has dropped to red three-"

"No, not like that. I mean as in _Real World _close to death." I corrected him. He stayed silent. "I have. When I was little, I caught chicken pox and Mom was afraid my sister, who was a baby at the time, would catch it too, so she sent me to my grandparents' house in Fuyuki. No one knows why, some think it was a terrorist attack, others it was volcanic activity, but a mysterious fire consumed a large portion of the area, and killed every single living being in that district of the city. Except_ me_." And Kirei, Father and Gilgamesh.

"How?" He looked as if there was something new on me.

"_I don't know_. I remember wandering the scorched earth in the middle of the cries of pain and the dying begging for help, until I fell unable to continue anymore, ready to die, or more accurately, knowing deep inside I was_ already _dead and accepting my ultimate end… but someone saved me. Yet _he_ smiled and cried, like _he_ was the one who was saved. It's the oldest memory I have. Everything before is a blank."

"So you just think you're dead and that is it?" He grabbed my shirt and yanked me forward so strongly that the system showed a harassment notice. "What kind of _defeatist idiot _you are!? If you die, Yuki, your sister, Lizbeth, Argo, Asuna would miss you, heck, I know _I will_, and I think so would those people who are waiting out of the game!"

"I don't _plan _on dying Kirito." He released me at those words, making me land on my backside. "But after that day I have sworn to save people, to try and reach out for that happiness, to smile that smile I saw that day…"

"That is… _Insane_." He shook his head in disbelief.

I continued nonetheless: "I also swore to make myself one of those 'persons to protect', and take care of my own safety sometime later." To Rin and Saber, they insisted on it, then to my Sekirei.

"So that's _it_?" He looked me into the eyes, his own black orbs enraged to the point of glowing. "You're putting yourself in the way of danger so you can pay for some luck that allowed you to live when you should be dead? Like it would change something, _anything at all_!? You're _crazy_ Shirou!"

"So I have been told." I snorted.

He took a deep breath and drew his sword, and I tensed at the movement. "I'd like to beat some sense into your head."

Then he reversed his blade and planted it into the ground. "But you're also my friend, and so are the girls there." He paused for a moment, "And since you _refuse _to protect yourself, I swear _I will_, with my sword or even my life if the situation calls for it." He drew his sword with a sweeping motion and placed it back in the scabbard. "Think of that before running up to face death next time." He offered me his hand.

I looked into his eyes. Did he really mean it? Was he really going to simply throw his life away for someone like_ me_?

I took his hand and he helped me up. "Ah, Ok?" I didn't know what to say to_ that_.

* * *

Late at night, Lizbeth looked from her bedroom's door, spotting the small form of Argo sneaking on Shirou's bedroom again, and then she snorted and turned to her room to sleep.

She would call the trickster on her behavior, but later, she was way too tired to even feel _jealousy_.

Besides, is not like she hadn't slept with Shirou a few times. On a purely _innocent_ level, of course.

She still remembered the first day time they forged together…

_"Why don't you go to sleep, Lizbet-san?" It was the first time he used my name, as he had taken to call me by 'Maid-chan' in response at my amateur jibe. "You must be tired."_

_"It's too boring to be here by yourself, isn't?" As I put the chair in front of him, the system's -Digital Focusing System- enhanced his own -Avatar- details to the point I could see the beads of sweat forming on his shirtless body. "I'm going to make you company until you finish it." Before he noticed my stare, I focused my eyes on the spear he was forging, and asked conversationally:_

_"Say, Shirou, why do you take forging so seriously? I mean, I __**do**__ enjoy my job, but the way you focus while hammering the thing is almost like you were doing it for __**real**__…"_

_He stayed quiet for a few seconds, and I was replaying the question in my mind, thinking it might have offended him somehow, when he answered. And what an __**answer**__ it was._

_"There's more to forging than simply hammering Iron. You're turning basic materials into the __**concepts **__you have created, first your mind, __**then **__into reality, shaping them through fire, skill and strength, __**if **__you truly put yourself to the task, if you __**really excel**__ in __**every**__ step of the creation… you __**might**__ succeed in creating something __**extraordinary**__." He had stopped hammering the spear, and I almost could hear the grinding metal sound that accompanied the failure message._

_"Come here." I got up and walked to him. Even today I don't understand why, if it was curiosity, boredom or if I had already fell for him and didn't know at the time…_

_But I did. I brought my hammer along with him, took a slab of -Forged Iron-, the simple material dull in appearance and shape, and he held my hammer before I could start, saying almost reverently, nearly a whisper in my ears… "Think, imagine what you __**want**__ to make. Then turn that into reality. I know it sounds silly, that this is 'just a game'… but if technology allows our minds to walk an imaginary world, why wouldn't we be able to make imaginary weapons true?" I struck, surprised that he hit along with me, the different sounds of our different hammers almost like __**music**__ due to our different paces and timings…_

_We forged a __**beautiful**__ spear. Then we made a sword. Then a hammer, and other things, we simply kept creating until we ran out of materials, and the next thing I knew I woke up in his arms late in the morning, feeling safe and content in his caring embrace, like I never had before…_

She wanted to feel that _again_.

And again, and again…

She would endure the frontlines, face her fears and her rivals for that. She will also temper her bonds with Shirou, and keep that sync they seem to have when forging, she will treasure these little moments until she feels that it's time to act.

And then they will be together.

Would that be real though? How could a bond forged in a fictional world fare in reality?

* * *

Asuna looked at the limit between the sky and the twentieth ninth floor. It was like someone drew a curved line between the starry and the starless sky. It was unnatural, but it very beautiful and calming to watch.

Her mind wandered to their last battles, to what she needed to change, where her skills needed improvements, where her friends needed improvement…

Friends. Such a simple word for such a deep meaning… She though those girls she met on her previous school were friends, but what did she _really_ knew about them? No. She couldn't call those she met before 'friends'. She should call them _acquaintances_.

Here though, she had real friends. She was willing to fight by their sides, or rather, she was happy to be with them, even if that meant fights and risks.

And it warmed her heart. It made her happy…

It was strange. She felt happier in a dangerous world were death was a close companion stalking you every time you walked outside, happier in a virtual world, a fantasy created by the mind of a madman, happier during those few months than she had been in her entire lifetime in reality before.

Was that the reason her mother advised her against playing games while she was studying? Were all the games _this _addictive?

Her face contorted in a frown when her mind supplied the other possibility. Or was her reality just _that _bleak?

Back then, that wasn't the way she thought. During the first days after Kayaba's announcement, she had locked herself from the world in panic, thinking of _everything_ as a risk, every shadow a danger and enemy. Her mind, always her defining feature, logical and calculating, even cold sometimes, locked up, unable to process the sudden change of scenario.

When it finally _dawned_ on her she wasn't in her world anymore, her panic turned into _fury_, and her fears fueled _rage_. She stomped her way through the fields by herself, she trounced mobs and minor bosses alike, she fought recklessly, not to win, only hoping to have a choice at least in her _death_.

Now, looking back, she felt _silly_, like a kid that threw a tantrum. Looking _forward_, she couldn't see what was ahead, she was only human after all, but she felt like she was ready, heck, since her mind cleared from her first month haze, she felt light. She felt so powerful, she felt so… _Alive_.

Even during the fiercest of battles, when she could almost see death looming over her shoulder like a creepy stalker, even then, she didn't felt afraid anymore.

It was the weirdest contradiction ever: She fought to clear the game, but deep inside didn't want the game to _end_.

Here in Aincrad, she wasn't Yuuki Asuna anymore. She was Asuna the Fencer. Asuna the Knight.

Bound by duty, tangled in a web of complicated people and their relationships, she was _free_.

Those simple thoughts scared her… they scared her because she remembered that time when her brother gave her that strange drink during one of their family parties. She remembers the euphoria, the feeling that she could take the world, that feeling like she could_ fly_. She also remembered spending the next week in bed, her feet on a cast because she decided that she could go out of the window and stargaze from the roof. She remember her tears of pain, her mother disapproving gaze, and she buried the shame deep down, swearing never do stupid things ever again, growing up before time against her own judgment.

And even though she had escaped her self-made cage by a whim of chance, even though she was learning how to_ fly_ again, _deep down_ she knew she was soaring on wings of _wax_, and she was going to fall again one day.

So, alone under the stars, Asuna, once more Yuuki Asuna, was crying.


	11. Girls in the Battlefield

**CHAPTER 6 - GIRLS IN THE BATTLEFIELD**

* * *

_"Onee-chan… Wake up, onee-chan!" I felt the small arms grab my face and kiss me on the lips, before the small blonde girl was dragged away by a group of black wearing people. "Onee-chan, wake up and save mee!"_

"What the!?" I shouted as I woke up, completely forgetting just where I fell asleep.

Onii-chan jumped awake as if he was never asleep, his curved swords appearing in his hands so fast that I never saw the menu appear.

"What? When?" He looked around and then seeing no danger settled his eyes on me.

"Ah, it was a dream?" I offered lamely. He just sighed and sat again on the pillow bed.

… Only to shot back immediately. "Erm, What are _you_ doing here?"

"Sleeping with you onii-chan!" I replied. Really, he was an _idiot_ if I need to answer such things!

"Not you." So he is ok- "And that doesn't mean I _accept_ it either." Dammit.

I followed his eyes until I settled in the face of Argo the Rat. I was about to speak but onii-chan raised a hand for me to stop.

"It looked comfortable so I decided to join." She shrugged his hard stare off like it was the most natural thing in the world. "What's the matter, you sleep with, like a dozen girls…"

"Haven't we discussed this before? They're _NPCs_, and they refuse to go away."

"Of course we won't leave, Shirou-sama is just too handsome!" One of them just latched on Onii-chan again.

"Yuki is not." Argo shot back.

"She is my sister!" He sighed.

"She asked you to make her a woman!" Pity I don't know how to convince him into turning his ethic codes off…

"Like I'd let her!" I giggle. You don't have a say in this, I just have to push you far enough.

I got back to bed and snuggled to one of the girls who didn't got up, trying to sleep again. Maybe these nightmares will simply stop on its own…

"Why couldn't I have dreamed of the cute boy on the park again?"

* * *

… A few hours later, 36th floor Main Dungeon

"Come on! …_more_ Monkeys?" Yuki looked at the group of opponents that ambushed us.

I jumped in front of the nearest, activating the -Diving Crash- at the nearest head. Shirou slid low by my left, drawing his one handed sword and activating a -Rage Spike- on another one, while Asuna was forced to evade a heavy mace strike from one of them. Seizing the opening, I bashed my recently acquired shield in the attacker, and stood back to back with Shirou, both of us launching sweeping skills to the sides, destroying the second one who jumped at the opening.

The one further away from us threw his weapon away, as we finished destroying the other ones. "It's going berserk! Watch out!"

We brought our shields in formation, stooping the first charge at the cost of a few slivers of HP, and four skill strikes again it was dead too.

* * *

I heard the sounds of a battle, and then the cheering of victory, but what really drew my attention was that the voices were _feminine_. I mean what were the odds…

Operating the menu quickly, I peeked through the corner, and only my well trained reflexes saved me from a strike on the eyes. My trusted spear met a blade, and I forced both weapons down to the floor.

"Ow, ow, ow! Don't _kill_ me please." I suppressed the urge to blush when my eyes confirmed who it was and how close the defensive movement made him to me.

"Sorry." Shirou scratched the back of his neck. "Is just that these monkeys…"

"Make ambushes every corner…" I blushed a bit more. "Yeah, sorry-"

"Hey, aren't you that spear master from the last boss fights?" Yuki was near me in a flash. "That was kinda cool." I smiled warmly at the compliment, "What are you doing here?" but frowned at the following question.

"Exploring, Leveling, the usual…" I trailed off.

I didn't want to part ways, but there wasn't a reason for us to party together. Unless…"Wanna see something cool?" I called them to follow.

Two turns later, we found ourselves facing the characteristic door of a boss room. "I found the boss room when I was exploring earlier. I was afraid to try and see it by myself, but since you guys are here, don't you want to help me scout?" Shirou nodded almost immediately making my heart leap in hope, and Asuna seemed to agree with him. The other girl also agreed, and we took a few moments to rest before Yuki pushed the doors open by _herself_. Just how high her STR attribute is?!

The room was wider and higher than the usual, but not completely clean as it was the norm. Some ruins marked the place, in the same oriental style the rest of the floor, while a giant, but clearly more limber monkey jumped in one of the taller pillars, making a show of drumming his chest like a gorilla would.

- The Monkey Monk King - It read in its cursor. It had a staff as long as he was tall, and some sort of armored robe, clearly inspired in Buddhist culture, some twisted parody of Sun Wukong from the journey to the west romances… But I better pay attention now it finished showing off.

* * *

The attack pattern was simple, but highly efficient. A sweeping attack that hit everything in a 180 degrees semicircle in front of it, then a series of precise strikes aimed at the nearest players. A sound-based debuff, and a charge to the most static player. If it was being pressed, it used a staff skill that stunned the target for a second and jumped back, and if detected a skill being charged it responded with a skill stopping skill. If given too much time, he unleashed a combo on the lowest HP in the room.

We retreated just one or two strikes short of putting it into his last HP bar, Asuna and Lizbeth on the yellow zone. "Damn, he was though."

"But it was a good workout. And we even got some data to a future scouting group…" Our impromptu ally sighed in satisfaction stretching her arms up. I nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't really help, you know?" Asuna noted dully. "A bath do wonders though."

"Yeah, but is difficult to find comfortable baths with privacy." She shrugged.

"I know, right!" Yuki took the girl's hand in her own. "The really big ones are public and that mean a lot of boys devouring you with their eyes…"

Sensing the way this conversation was going, I sighed and walked away. "I'm clearing the path." Why do I have to be the only boy in the guild? Kirito, why did you left me behind?

* * *

I punched the pillow enough that instead of a flashing message I could use it as a purple lamp for a while...

"Why does he have to be so handsome and nice!? He didn't even look at me like I was a woman! And I was wearing my _best dress_!" I dished another flurry of attacks, the purple stream of light keeping for half a minute after I finished. "What would it take for him to notice me!? _Stripping _up in front of him!? _Se-sleeping_ with him?!" My face warmed up at the thought of his chiseled body cuddling mine in a loving fashion...

Wait! That _last idea_ might have some merit, if I tone it down somewhat...

* * *

We opened the door and scattered in the boss room. Our numbers were even greater than the last fights, with two parties from that ninja guild, and we were stocked to the brim with potions and crystals. We had the advantage. We had a _plan_.

But everyone knows about how _that_ saying goes…

I was partnered with Yuki, our duo a strange dissonance of a tanker with two blades and a Shield-bearing DPS. We made a few hit-and-run strikes, with me acting as a decoy, while Yuki activated her most powerful skills, other groups doing the same in rapid succession.

Every time the boss dashed, a tanker parried the strike to keep one of the more fragile players from being hit, and with that strategy, we had lowered the Monkey King's health to a half.

Then someone made a slip.

It was a small thing, really _ridiculous_ in the grand scheme. The 'nail of the horse's shoe' so to speak.

A player tripped on the scenery debris when backing down, his life on the yellow. The boss responded as predicted, unleashing his stun skill on the guy, and his partner, a heavily-armored tanker named Klaus, if I remember correctly, parried the hit. Heathcliff dashed at the same time as Chihiro, the former bashing the boss weapon with his shield, the latter unleashing a blindingly fast combo that took a_ quarter_ of the current HP bar from the boss.

Either we or the other scouting party never dared to cause _that_ much damage at once during the scouting battles, so the retaliatory strike took all of us by surprise.

Chihiro was_ kicked_ to the floor, under stun, and Heathcliff and others were hit by the area strike and pushed back.

I was moving before the second strike came, a downward smash skill type, and taking note of my options, I choose the path with the most chance of survival for the girl:

I threw myself in the way. Not_ blindly_, of course (that would be _stupid_). My two scimitars were thrown, both taking sizable chips of the monster's health but still failing to cancel the strike, and my shield was used to try and parry the ominous black cloaked weapon.

In this game, the heavier the weapon, the greater the chance it had to push through defenses, and I had already felt the weight of _those_ strikes before. I had_ no_ chance to stay unscathed begin with.

The first strike smashed me to the ground, the second pushed my health into the yellow.

The third took half of my remaining life, but it was also the last one: a black clad form holding of the boss' staff and _stopping_ the remaining attacks.

Let it be said that my sister was a person that could be quite hard headed, and she decided since the beginning of the game to make 'a beautiful, strong knight clad in black' in her own words. She succeeded in both _strength_ and _color of choice_ I can say for sure. At the cost of _all_ her attribute points, I must note.

Every single one allocated under_ strength_.

* * *

Takami held her breath as if it would make things better. Not only her son jumped at the chance of defending yet another girl (he should be satisfied by now, shouldn't he?) but her daughter actually pushed herself beyond the limits of the Nervegear, risking her life for her brother.

And she was stuck outside, seeing her daughter holding a staff as thick as she was with her bare hands, and many other players launching their more powerful attacks on the boss.

The creature stumbled back under the fierce assault, and Yukari smashed its head with its own weapon, stumbling and falling at Minato's side in the process.

It was over.

* * *

I looked at the face of my savior, scant centimeters of my own, that fire back in his eyes.

I_ kissed_ him.

It didn't occur to me at the time, that it would trigger harassment alerts, or that we were in public. I didn't hear the surprised gasps, and it took a while to even notice the loud catcalls.

Then hell broke loose.

We stood up, I could barely look at his face, and turned to run away. As I was pushing my way through the crowd, some sort of commotion started, and someone threw a blade at me, that I barely evaded, thanks to Shirou tackling me to the floor.

Who was attacking me, and more importantly: _Why_?

There were people panicking around, which made even more difficult to locate the mysterious attacker, and another spear traced the air and took a chunk of my life.

Yet another commotion was surging at my left, and I could hear that Yuki's voice shouting at some guy in the ninja outfit. Heathcliff banged his shield calling for attention, but the attacks made the panic too intense.

Then I heard a scream of terror, and looking at the source, I saw the splash of polygons of a player dying.

"She killed_ another_ one!" One player teleported away in panic, and two of the ninja characters advanced on me, Shirou standing by my side with his two weapons at ready.

"Quiet Everyone! She _can't_ be the killer!" Another voice shouted.

"But she is the _only_ Orange!" Someone barked back, flinching when I looked at him.

"Who is it then?!"

"If you want her, you'll have to fight me!" Asuna-san was by Shirou's side, and the other Avalon Knights soon followed her. The black swordsman also took our side, standing in front of my savior, his sword raised.

"How low would you cheaters fall?! Are you defending orange players now!?" Someone called from the mob.

"She is only orange because she kissed Shirou!" The pink haired mace wielder, Lizbeth, shouted in my defense.

One of the players attacked Yuki, who was still unarmed from her earlier stunt. I tried to push her out of the way, but she simply _took_ the hit.

_Then_ she struck back. She delivered low level -Dragon Punch- skill, throwing the stunned player in a nearby wall, and then she _shouted:_ "What, aren't you attacking _him_? He is orange now! Look! Oh, maybe you only attack helpless damsels because you think them _weak_? No wonder onii-chan gets _all_ the girls!" She stood defiantly, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Apparently the shock gave them enough pause that Heathcliff managed to assume the situation. "I believe this is quite_ enough_! Two players, no two _people _died here today, from unknown causes, and this girl was almost lynched because she failed to control her _passion_. There was no way she could have killed them, for the simple reason her weapon is still there in the floor since the moment she was struck. So let's _calm down_ and try to figure this out, shall we?"

* * *

Argo looked at me in complete disbelief once more. "You're saying someone killed two people and put the blame on her" She pointed at the distressed Chihiro, "Because she had forcefully _kissed_ you and her cursor turned orange?"

"I didn't say _forcefully._"

"The point still stands, if you had kissed back or simply pushed the button 'No' under the ten second timer, she would have avoided this." Good to know. If simply kissing back could avoid these situations, I might want to return future advances. ...For completely _practical_ reasons.

"I think that's the least of our concerns here." Heathcliff interrupted Argo's response. "This incident just proved that there is a _killer_ among the clearers. And a very astute one."

"The Inquisitors."

"Huh?" The inquisitive noise escaped my throat.

"Two days ago, a guild by this name was registered, but no icon was selected." Argo started. "I can't say for sure, but I believe it's formed by the recent deserters from the ALF, and some of the runaways from the jailbreak months ago. In any case, it's our best lead."

"Wait! You think Kibaou was there!?" I nearly shouted. "We would recognize him if we saw his face!"

"How many people were wearing _full armor_?" She pressed forward. "Besides, it's possible to change hair details in game. A helmet and a new hairstyle and you'd miss him in the crowd, unless you were paying attention. Or it could have been _someone else_, a subordinate or accomplice."

Heathcliff nodded. "Why Chihiro though? I believe Shirou or the other knights were the most probable targets, right?"

I sighed. I _knew_ the reason. "She gave them an opening. They were probably going to try and kill me in the middle of the chaos, and she would be blamed for it."

"Actually, according to Asuna, someone_ did_ try to kill you." The informant noted. "You took _two_ hits when you tackled Chihiro to the ground, only your battle continuation prevented the worse. Don't you ever _look_ at your health bar?" She gave me an annoyed look. Come on, I'm not _that_ bad.

"That's it." Heathcliff shook his head. "I believe you guys shouldn't go out there alone, and you are not going to participate in any boss raids until this situation gets straightened back." He frowned. "I'm assigning a team of my own guild members to try and find these 'Inquisitors' and we're going to clean this mess."

"Heathcliff-san?" He looked at me. "I think I might have a _better_ idea…"

* * *

"So you're going to be bait?" The supreme commander of the Knights of Blood just raised an eyebrow at my idea.

"Not _exactly_, I'm just going to train by myself for the next days, and see if they try and attack me…"

"You're not going in there alone!" Asuna crossed her arms in defiance.

"Of course not. I'm _not_ stupid. I was going to ask Argo to track me and I'd open a gate crystal to get reinforcements once they attack."

"Sounds like a good plan." The Knight agreed.

"I'm going with you." Another voice called from my back.

"Chihiro-san? Are you sure this is a good Idea? I'll have to force myself to open holes in my style on purpose, and I already throw my weapons away-"

"I can throw my spear too, if that makes you happy. And is not fair you assume all responsibility for the mess I put you into." The frustrated look in her face told me this wasn't up to discussion.

"Yeah, why would you kiss onii-chan out of the blue?" Yuki, on the other hand seemed to be taking sadistic glee in twisting the knife further.

"Uhm, that's…" The look of hurt on her face made me glare at my sister, who seemed to take the hint and shut up.

"You like him too." It wasn't a question. Asuna then turned from the girl to me, looking quite cross. "What kind of magic you do that makes every girl who so much as look at you gets hopeless infatuated." I'd like to know, hoping I could reverse it. In any case, I'm sure is Zelrech's fault, somehow…

Lizbeth giggled. "Have you changed genders and forgot to tell us?" Apparently she took the chance to find amusement in teasing her friend. At least it lightened the mood.

"No, I actually _had_ a crush on him when we first met. I got better though." I just shrugged, I had noticed a few looks, but she was discrete and I wasn't very sure.

"You can't get anyone better than Onii-chan!"

"Not even Kirito?" Argo sniped from her traditional spot and teacup.

"I'll get them both! And then we will-"

I shot Heathcliff a long suffering look at my sister's rant, and he winced in sympathy. _Yes_, I have to deal with this _every day_. Then he cleared his throat and spoke with all the authority of a real-life commander below his calm and collected tone: "Girls, let's focus on the situation at hand, please. Well Chihiro-san, what makes you think you're qualified to this assignment?" Was this guy part of a _real__army_ by any chance?

I choose that time to add my two cents: "And while your spear skills are formidable, suppose you throw it to fake an opening and they capitalize on it? What you would do unarmed?"

She smiled unfazed. "I have over 900 in -Martial Arts-, so I think I can manage."

* * *

I looked at the girl at my right and she smiled at me. I tried my best to smile back reassuringly, afterall we are in the best training areas of 38th floor by ourselves, amidst the jungle that literally _dominated_ this floor. The predominant monster types here seem to be reptilian, and while the oversized lizards and snakes didn't seem to scare my companion, girls aren't supposed to like them much.

I decapitated another Python-like monster with some caution while my companion seemed to be a little irritated by the fact that she was dragged into one of the muddy pools that peppered this place. Despite the little HP loss, she seemed to be fine, if a little dirty. I took on the small twigs and leaves on her hair and clothes, and the way said clothes seemed to shrink on her person and I looked away.

She didn't seem mad, but I'm not risking getting on her bad side while we're trying to be ambushed.

* * *

"You know, this is boring!" Yuki shouted from a pile of pillows, throwing her hands up for effect. I covered my smile with tea, and Argo flashed me a smirk as if I was doing something inappropriate.

"Well, is not like every task is a battle where you gain fame under the risk of death." Heathcliff waited calmly. Other KoB members passed the time walking back and forth and enjoying the comforts of the Oasis.

"It's Shirou. He have been under the risk of death since floor _One_." Lizbeth snorted.

"I've have heard pretty disturbing stories, but weren't they all exaggerations? Surely he isn't _that_ reckless. I mean, except from that stunt on the Monkey King and the 28th's boss, I only remember the fight against the dragon." The KoB leader raised one sensitive issue without knowing.

"The Kobold boss on floor one, the four armed golem, and that giant wasp on floor five. That I remember from the top of my head." Asuna listed unrelenting.

"You forgot that red Minotaur, if he had been a second slower I ducking, he wouldn't be here today." I added my two cents. Really, Shirou seems to chase death. "But in every case, he saved someone or provided a vital opening to defeat the boss. I guess even if we don't approve we have to admit he kind of know what he is doing." Really, if wasn't for him, I don't know where I'd be today, and surely I would be _alone_, wherever that would be.

* * *

I shook the dirt of my clothes as I got up. At least I don't feel pain. I remember mom's warnings about messing with dad's pets and what happened to that rat. I shiver. Well, if rolling around in the mud and getting wet is what makes him pay attention to me, I'm more than happy to dive in _this_ one.

"So, you think there might be monster's in there?" He asked without looking my way.

"I don't know, but I sure _need_ a dip, especially my hair." I stuck my spear on the ground and untie my ponytail. "Can you look out for me?"

His face seems to light up for a moment, and he nods seriously. "Sure thing. Enjoy your bath." I'll never know what he is thinking sometimes, while others he is almost… transparent.

* * *

She is more serious about this I had imagined. And this is quite a devious plan, all things considered. Who _wouldn't_ think she is defenseless while bathing.

Still, doing it in _underwear_ is quite a bit too much.

"Come here Shirou! The water is great!" She called me. Scanning the lake once more with my tracking, and finding nothing of note I decided to relax a bit. Maybe her idea has some merit. They could be waiting for me to drop my guard too, or they are simply not here. Either way, covered in grime and dirt as I am, it seems I'm also in dire need of some cleaning. I shrugged.

"Sure thing."

* * *

Argo chuckled again from her meditation position. "What the heck is so funny. Okay, can you hear me?" Yuki started to hound the spy master again, occasionally poking her from odd angles. Then the smaller girl tripped her to the floor, and resumed her concentration, a simple "Yes, I can." Being her only answer.

Then the -Black Valkyrie of Aincrad- sat by my side, and glared at my chuckling. "Not you too." She wined.

"Well, it _is_ funny. Besides, you were asking for it."

Then Argo made a sour face, and I tensed. "It's time?"

"_No._" Came the short reply. "Nothing_ serious._"

Lizbeth resumed her equipment repairing, Asuna was back to playing Chess against Heathcliff, and loosing soundly, and I was without anyone to talk except Yuki.

What wouldn't I give for some distraction right now…

…

…

And why can't Murphy work when we _want_ him too?

* * *

I'm starting to think her appreciation of the bath have _nothing _to do with our trap. "Chihiro-san?"

"Just Chihiro is fine Shirou." She gave me another sweet smile, and my memory tingled as if trying to remember something.

"Aren't you a bit too comfortable wearing so little?"

"Not really, if is only you and me." She still blushed a bit.

I have to _keep_ her from falling for me, but gently… "Look, I…" She chooses that moment to swim closer and embrace me, her cheeks even more red, and even mine reddening.

"I… Love you." She spoke and kissed me gain. I remembered to reciprocate this time, and she took her sweet time. As we parted she spoke, before I could. "Would you marry me?"

My mouth shut, and my mind locked up trying to formulate an answer. My senses weren't also helping, too focused on the closeness of our bodies and her very nice figure. Still, I was jolted from my reverie by a sound of something sharp cutting the air from above, and I pushed the lovestruck girl underwater.

An honest to god _falcon_ almost pierced the water surface not a second later.

She made a show of throwing her hair back while surfacing and I had to appreciate the beauty of the scene as I swam to the shore.

Then the annoying bird dived again, clawing at her hair in unexplained rage, and she dived again, dragging the smaller creature with her. I sighed and kept lookout for both enemies and her health bar.

* * *

Argo twitched and squeezed her palms closed in rage, then she opened her eyes burning in rage.

"Is time?" I couldn't help but ask a bit faster than I should. Yuki is nice and cute, but she makes me too embarrassed with her disregard of personal space.

"No Ki-bou, but I'll have to go there _personally_. Lizbeth, come with me."

* * *

"Before you start breaking things, remember you're in a lab and this is the life support that keeps_your_ Chiho alive, not to mention my son." Takami warned from her desk, and Uzume froze.

"You're not actually _considering_ it, are you?"

"Marrying them?" She stared at the distraught Linen Sekirei, who just nodded.

"If it works in there, I don't see why not. Chiho is a sweet girl, and Minato needs someone who care, not two mysterious girlfriends who don't seem to give a damn."

"But I _love_ Chiho!" Uzume cried loudly.

"I'm sure Minato-kun wouldn't have a problem with that." Number 10 froze.

"So, you're saying… you're… OK with a threesome?"

"Foursome." I took my glasses off. Takami's surprised eyes met mine for a moment and she shrugged.

Then Uzume looked at me, then at the screen, then at me again. "Foursome then." I put my glasses back.

We giggled together, and Takami sighed. "I need a drink."

As Matsu's soon-to-be mother-in-law left, my future co-wife spoke again: "What if Argo or Lizbeth make a move?"

Matsu's thought about it for a moment than grinned. "Well, I'm sure between Matsu-tan, Uzume-chan, and Chiho-chan, Shirou-kun will see the joys of having a harem…"


	12. The Battle of the Lake

**CHAPTER 7 - THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE**

* * *

I looked away as Chihiro's wet form emerged from the shore. Apparently the bird wasn't much of a threat, as her life decreased less than one of my _unassisted_ strikes.

"Just what was _that_?" I shrugged, feeling her gaze on my back.

Then feeling something else, I turned, _mostly_ ignoring the beauty in wet underwear in favor of the light appearing behind her, my hands itching towards the menu and operation gestures to bring my swords forth.

I had nearly chucked Chihiro's spear at Argo's face on instinct, before I recognized her, but she didn't gave me more than a surprised look and then a smirk. "Aren't we jumpy today, ne?"

"Maybe because you're doing something we _shouldn't_ know about?" Lizbeth looked like _I_ was an inch from being bashed on the head, the virtual audio perfectly reproducing the sound of her leather gloves creaking around her mace's handle.

Then Chihiro nearly broke my record on menu operation speed right there, re-equipping her equipment in a way that reminded me of those magical girl shows: Flashes of lights and pieces of armor and clothing_ appearing_ from nowhere. Thanks root I don't swap _armor_ in battle, or I might had been known as the_ Magical Swordsman Shirou_ or _Magical White_ or something girly like that.

"What exactly were you doing to Shirou, Chihiro-san?" Not that it impressed anyone else, Liz simply ignored it and pressed the girl against a large rock just out in the water.

The blonde haired girl blushed crimson and started stuttering, and I turned to Argo, satisfied that they weren't going to kill each other when I wasn't looking. "Why are you two here? And don't say it was because Chihiro's life dropped, because if it was _that_, you'd have brought everyone. I know you were watching _somehow_."

"Up until Flasher-chan decided to drown my familiar, yes, I _was_ watching." She crossed her arms and her face twitched. I was operating my menu and re-equipping my shirt when I _froze_.

"Your _familiar_?" Both our faces changed, mine in understanding, hers in surprise at her slip. "So that is how you do it!" I smirked at her, and I could see her hands almost jumping to cover her mouth.

"Don't tell anyone!" She hissed.

"Ok, ok." I waved both hands before a message popped in front of me.

- Player Chihiro asked your hand in marriage. -

- Accept? -

- (Yes O) (No X) -

Then another window overlapped the previous, this one from Lizbeth, and I looked where the two were butting heads and trading hisses like a pair of angry cats. Another window from Chihiro overlapped the one from Liz, substituting the previous, and then Liz was on top again (that just didn't come out right, did it?), and then Chihiro…

I sighed deeply and looked back to Argo. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

She looked to me, then to the girls for a moment, and I remembered she couldn't see my notifications or menu unless I let her, yet she _somehow_ managed to connect the dots before I explained.

"No, I didn't think it would escalate _that_ badly." She was saying in barely restrained amusement. "But this is way too amusing…"

I was going for a more annoyed remark, but decided to throw her own sarcasm right back. "What about you? Are you proposing to me yet?" See, I can make fun of that as well as she can do it to me.

"Nah, I don't want to commit myself just _yet_." She _laughed_ it off without even blushing, much to my disappointment. "Doesn't mean I'm going to stop sneaking into your bed even if you're ma-" We both tensed and I dragged the two girls behind into cover, voices and the sound of moving foliage coming from the other side of the boulder.

The two blushed profusely at being splashed into water and pressed against me, or perhaps it was the fact that I covered their mouths with my hands. Anyway, my attention was elsewhere.

I could hear lots of steps, the light clanking of a few armored people, and the grunts and moans of pain of a_ female_ voice.

Moving myself to look the most in the discreet way I could, I felt Liz tense, and my hand shot to her mouth again before she could speak. She seemed to squirm a bit, but once she relented I released her. Then I managed to get a glimpse of the situation out there, and saw a bunch of men and a few women around a bound girl no more than 15, down to rags and kneeling on the ground.

I dashed and punched the creepy shaman-looking guy who was raising a dagger, and a few tough looking fellows started to move into my direction.

The thin man I had punched rose again, screaming something about a water spirit and I saw one of the armored figures who was looking at me from the sidelines move for a second. Then I saw something else: not how he looked in Aincrad, but from a brief moment, I saw him like he looked in my very_ first_ life, which scared me even _more_: A tall, long haired man carrying a japanese sword almost as long as himself.

Then that image vanished, and the armored Samurai was back. He looked at me for a moment, his hand at the Katana at his waist, than sighed and shook his head exasperated.

I evaded an attack from behind, seeing it before it came thanks to the position of the sun, and was slightly surprised that was the same girl I was just saving, when I focused on her, still in time to see her cursor changed from grey to red, and her eyes started to glow a light blue.

"The water spirit decided to take compensation for itself, let the infidel _die_ for his foolishness!" The shaman shouted hysterically, or maybe his voice was just that shrilly, jumping and making wild gestures.

- Defeat the Possessed Sacrifice - Appeared in my vision and I groaned, recognizing I just triggered a random event instead of saving a player, all when I was unarmed and unarmored. "_Shit_."

The woman dashed to me with speed unfit for a civilian, and I kicked back making more distance between us, calling forth a dagger and a one handed blade on the_ second_ try, the first failing because of the annoying system warnings that respawn every once in a while.

I threw the former weapon, and the woman evaded low, right before the -Sonic Leap- impacted her, then a mule kick and a -Horizontal- to take the remaining life before the system marker on her Life Bar.

A light bluish liquid emerged from her mouth, and disappeared on the lake, and I looked at the armored form of Sasaki Kojiro, or at least his local counterpart.

"Eh, you were following this event, right? Sorry about that." I scratched the back of my neck with the pommel of my blade.

"I wonder what were you thinking, but based on the rumors I heard about you… I kind of have an id-" Argo's hysterical laughter echoed through the clearing, and the man raised one eyebrow. "Your companion?"

"Yes. She does that, sometimes. I'd ignore if I was you. Nothing good comes from_ that_ laughter."

"I see. Well, I'm taking this event again tomorrow, I'd appreciate if you don't tell anyone about its existence. He was about to turn away, when a wet sound made itself known, and a form emerged from the lake.

It read -Water Spirit- on the red cursor. And two HP bars filled themselves.

* * *

I was too confused to even know what was happening.

One moment I was showing Chihiro why_ I_ would make a better bride to Shirou, reminiscing quite nice memories from when I first met him, and the bragging the strange synchrony I can have with him at times. Then the very same boy jumped and pressed both of us to himself, nearly making me scream, and not exactly in _surprise_.

Not satisfied yet, he started _squirming_ against my body, rubbing his leg on _places_ I haven't let him touch just _yet_, and I was scared the system response was going to give my arousal away, and that I was as red as my rival was looking just now.

Then he simply release us and dash away, and I notice the commotion out there, jumping on top of the rock and ignoring the system message that appeared in favor of getting my mace ready, while Shirou finished a mob in form of a girl without getting hit once. I sighed in relief and looked back to the message in front of me, only to re-read it _thrice_ before believing my eyes.

- Congratulations! Player Shirou accepted your Request. You're now Married. -

- Update Status window? -

- (Yes O) (No X) -

I clicked yes and nearly jumped in glee, before the rightmost part of my menu split into three separate character windows -Chihiro-, -Lizbeth- and -Shirou-.

I looked at the other girl that was as red as I probably am, but Argo beat me to the question, even if hers was less specific (and more _family friendly_) than what I had in mind at the moment. "What happened?"

"Shirou married… _us_." Chihiro was the one who asked, staring at her Menu as if the window (that I now _could_ see) had all the answers to the questions that were running rampant through _both_ of our heads.

Argo just laughed, and I felt like caving her head in, but a weird sound decided to interrupt my murderous thought before they turned reality.

Because these things always seem to happen to us, for _some_ reason. It's like someone is having fun at our expense.

* * *

After Argo left, Asuna had to keep watch over the Guild window, looking for any damage to Shirou and the others HP bars, to make sure we wouldn't be late in case they need us. Still, I was not surprised she would have questions, she is a fairly inexperienced player despite her amazing combat power.

Her question still surprised me though. "Chihiro-san? Why did her name appeared here?"

The commander didn't seem surprised though, "I suppose they invited her to the guild. She has been hanging with you guys for a while." Probably because the question was pretty basic in itself.

"It's normal then? She also has a golden border along Liz and Shirou's names."

"_Both_ their names you say?" Heathcliff noted with a small expression of surprise, but before anyone could say something else, Asuna seemed to operate a menu before she stood up and pulled the crystal.

"Let's go! They need us now! They found a _boss_!"

"You guys heard the girl! Move, move, move!" Keita shouted to the other cats and Klein pulled his Katana from the scabbard, the other members of Fuurinkazan following shortly.

We dashed forward as soon as Asuna opened the corridor crystal, ready to face a powerful -Area Boss-, since Argo's info was usually spot on. As soon as the flash from the teleport dispersed, I noticed the Lake shore clearing, and the at least three meter water elemental thrashing against the combined efforts of Chihiro and another Katana user.

The life of the -Spirit of the Lake- decreased by a good deal, but the damage _vanished_ as soon as it was caused, as the mercurial form of the creature's limbs re-knitted themselves, launching towards the small group a second after.

Shirou and Lizbeth surged from the flanks of the attacker party of two, their shields blocking the retaliating strike at the cost of another piece of their HP. I was already running, Asuna at my right, Yuki and Sachi at my left, even if the latter seemed a bit rattled by witnessing the visually impressive attack.

Yuki's threw her -Sinner's Burden-, which was nothing more a large blackened steel ball attached to the end of a chain, easily obtainable by killing the mobs from the last dungeon, but almost _impossible_ to use due to the extreme weight of the weapon, at the boss' head, momentarily stopping the flurry of strikes, and struck again, tugging the long chain of the weapon to recover it, and creating an opening for me to jump.

Asuna's -Shooting Star- was followed by both mine and Sachi's timed -Sonic Leap- but the damage refused to persist, and the creature's HP was once more _full_. I could see Klein using some Katana Skill, and Heathcliff unleashing some weird single hit strike I _never_ saw before, both taking good chunks of the creature's life, but also failing to cause _persistent_ damage.

Shirou started that insane weapon shooting trick of his, but before he got enough hits the boss retaliated crashing a wave on the shore and pushing us in the lake. Movement restricted by the waist-level water, our DPS ratio stopped preventing the creature's strikes, and it had enough time to unleash a skill itself.

Both arms descended with tsunami-like force in front of the boss, two of the weaker players crashing on the shore. Sasamaru was also caught, and switched with Keita to pot, before Klein drew the monster attention with a Katana skill.

"FULL RETREAT EVERYONE!" Heathcliff's voice echoed in the clearing. The lower level players were the first to retreat, as the stronger players held the line to buy time.

Or at least that was the plan, before a scream was heard in the forest. Some of the players came _back_ from the tree line, others screamed and tripped over themselves at the impossibility to run away, and I noticed a throwing blade hitting one of the returning players, along with the small hint of a cursor in the jungle.

"ASSIST THE RETREAT! THE KNIGHTS WILL HOLD THE BOSS!" Asuna shouted over the commotion, but Shirou dashed into the forest, and I followed against my better judgment.

I_ almost_ lost him, before he gave his position away by throwing a _two-handed sword_ against the knife thrower, a wiry guy wearing a mask and a cloak.

Circling from behind, I pulled a paralyzing knife from my inventory and made a throw myself, neutralizing-

"KIRITO!_ GET DOWN!_" Shirou screamed and I hit the deck, evading a sweeping strike that only killed the unfortunate branch at my left.

* * *

I have barely evaded a strike myself, after shouting a warning to Kirito.

Still operating with a one-handed curved blade and a shield, I threw the blade at the guy who tried to ambush Kirito, and summoned my two favored weapons from the menu. His next strike met the ground, and I was _inside_ his defense, my mind taking note of the frowning face bellow the helmet and the mop of brown. I felt rage well within me, and for some reason, I_ hated_ him instinctively.

His partner, a girl with short black hair and not yet in her teens, skewered my side with a halberd out of nowhere, before I could attack, and I had to roll back, one of my blades half-parrying and _barely_ reducing the damage from the heavier weapon.

My eyes met hers and I flinched at the_ emptiness_ in those orbs.

"B*tch, what took you so long!?" He offended the girl that just saved him, and an image of him striking the girl's _blonde_ counterpart face with a punch flashed in my head. "Hurry up and kill him!" She moved agile despite the enormous weapon, but her attacks lacked will.

"Junichi Tanigawa." He froze as I spoke his name from memory. I instinctively jumped at the opening, but the girl came at his defense, this time with a sweeping strike, that I ducked and rolled, righting myself in time to deliver an upward strike at the thuggish guy.

_Not-Yashima_ made her move, but the skill failed the moment she found my left blade burying in her torso, my right delivering a -Crimson Rain- combo, the three successive hits chopping the guys life, before I was hit, surprised at the girls speed or at least competence in choosing a fast skill to take care of my unwanted opening. Yellow flashed at my back, and my life, already low from the Lake Spirit reached yellow.

And I was_ stunned_.

Kanbo met my body, knocking me back, but breaking the negative effect, and I rolled back to a kneeling position, carefully blocking the next hit, and noticing my life was bellow a third, while both of my opponents were nearing a half.

Halberd met my sword, deflecting it back, and I held the _girl's_ weapon handle to block the next strike from the guy. Ignoring the lifeless girl, I held firm on the weapon, using the space between the ax head and the handle to lock his weapon. He spilled a torrent of dirty expletives at the girl, and my blade sought his neck, while my free hand still held firm the large weapon to keep both of them from counter attacking.

One strike, and a _half_ of his remaining life disappeared, and I drew the blade back to end the battle, bringing it forward again.

He pulled the girl in front of him, by the hair no less, and not only blocked my strike with her, but discarding his favored weapon, kicked my previously discarded blade into his hands and rammed it through _both_ of us.

The girl survived enough to send a blank look at the blade in her chest, not even surprised at the actions of her companion, or 'Ashikabi' my mind supplied, and I had to jump back to avoid a downward smash.

Kicking the shaft of the halberd up, I used a -Moon Howl- to keep him at distance, my own battle mindset unable to keep me _quiet _anymore. "You're the worst of the scum, Junichi. I'm going to kill you, and I'll feel like I just done the world a service." I growled. He didn't answered, still surprised I survived, which I probably only managed because of the -Battle Continuation-.

The next strike was with the shaft, hitting his ribs, and he panicked, trying to use a -Teleport Crystal-, but I was faster, and he lost his hand from placing his attention elsewhere.

He dashed back, being lucky enough to trip on a salient root, preventing decapitation, and managed to teleport before I retrieved the unwieldy weapon from the tree to cave his head in.

* * *

The guy took a step back, clumsily but effectively evading another blade thrown by Shirou, and I took the opening.

Left to right strike, step left, avoid the sword from the guy, another horizontal strike, this one right to left, another step, carefully avoiding the unearthed root, yet another horizontal slash, this one at the enemy's unprotected back, and yet another at his yet to be hit right, forcefully closing the -Horizontal Square- on the unfortunate orange player, and jumping to get a bit more of distance.

Shirou was fighting two oranges, one with a Kanbo and other with an oversized halberd.

Unable to simply jumping and assist, and also incapable of simply paralyzing this opponent like I did to the last, I kept my guard, expecting him to run now that his life was in the yellow.

He _charged_.

My -Vertical Arc- met his -Snake's Bite-, and he took more damage due to his equipment lower levels, and weaker skill, but _I_ was the loser of the exchange. Snake's Bite wasn't a high damage skill, for the simple reason it was a strike _meant_ to be defended or countered, so it could break the opponent's weapon.

I sidestepped his following -Slant-, mourning the loss of my -Black Fang-, and delivered a -Lightning Combo-, my heaviest unarmed skill to his exposed side. The three fast blows cut his life to the red.

He didn't stop, -Savage Fulcrum- a quick three hit combo activating the moment he turned. I evaded, but found myself unable to counter fearing any more strikes would kill him.

And he _knew_ that. Turning again, he attacked recklessly and I was forced to evade the -Horizontal- again. This time however, a dagger caught me in the back, and another hit me in the arm. I had no choice. My enemy dashed, and -Sonic Leap- met both my palms, as I ignored two more knives at my back and my life reaching the yellow. -Bare-Handed Blade Block- was a skill that needed _perfect _timing, but against a one-handed sword skill, I could do it with my eyes _closed_.

Not only blocking, but_ taking_ the blade from him, my -Iron Fist- met his ribcage, shattering his form into its forming polygons. Turning my back to the deceased opponent, I deflected two more blades with my newly acquired one, and leaped, this time killing my own _hesitation_ and activating -Vorpal Strike-.

As I expected, the other enemy was down in a single strike.

Shirou still had one enemy left, and was uncharacteristically cursing the kanbo user, calling the guy 'scum' and putting a name to the face: Junichi. Apparently they were acquaintances on real life, and not on good terms with each other.

Since the matter was _personal_, I settled for drinking a potion and keeping watch, until the guy managed to flee using a crystal on his second try, the first one ending with a severed arm on the ground.

Shirou was quite upset, and his frown only deepened once he caught a look into my face. "You ok, Kirito?"

I hesitated, but decided to answer truthfully. "Not sure. I just _killed_ two players."

"I see." His face morphed into concern. "Go back to the Oasis. I'll check on the others."

Shaking my head, I stood up. "No way. I'm not leaving without you guys."

* * *

In hindsight, I was an _idiot_. Not that it was news to me, but…

Maybe it was the fact that we were nearing a year in-game, or maybe the game was turning more realistic (well, some things had changed, though in a very small scale), but I really shouldn't had desperate.

But I did.

If she was _really_ dead, there wouldn't be a body left. I know, I should have remembered, but when I entered the clearing, and saw Argo immobile laying form, not breathing, pale as a sheet… I ran to her, screaming 'stay with me', 'don't dare to die' or something of the effect.

After all had passed, she explained the system -Emotional Response Engine- based its responses both on emotional readings, and superficial thoughts. Things like 'I'm seeing red' really happen here, because when you thought things like that, the Nervegear would pick your impressions of what that feeling would look like and print it on your -Avatar-.

At that moment, she was thinking on the lines of 'I'm dead tired', and so, she did look like a _corpse_. People started gathering around, there were hushed comments, someone shook my shoulder… I didn't really care. Then her eyes open, her face morphed into that damned smirk of her, like she was a mischievous cat that tricked the dog into the doghouse, and got both the canary and the fish.

"So close. Your wives will get jealous…" She whispered at my ears, the action probably looking like a kiss, so close we were.

I just sat there, my actions in that half minute _replaying_ in my mind, and only them I registering her third-full HP bar in the upper left corner of my vision.

At least I had the grace to look embarrassed. "We won?"

"Yes, Shiro-kun, we won." She was giggling as she sat up. "I was just taking a nap."

"Lazy rat."

"Worrywart."

I hit her shoulder lightly.

Someone cleared his throat. "Sorry for breaking the mood, but what is this about?" I looked up Sasaki Kojirou's form, and finally noticing the crowd around us, especially Chihiro's annoyed face.

"Nothing to worry about." Argo waved it off, to which I was grateful. "Apparently Nervegear had killed his brain some time ago, and he been like this since, ne." Maybe not, I spoke too soon. "And don't look at me like that…" She met my eyes with a glare. "Unless you have an explanation to why we had to face this boss, other than your hero complex."

Come on, what was she mad for? It's not like is the first boss-

I blinked and looked at her, yep, still glaring at me. It _was_ her _first_ boss fight! She was scared because her life went to the yellow, and she could only blame me. It was even _cute_ in a way.

"Don't worry Argo, I wouldn't let you die." I put my hand to her shoulder.

Her eyes widened and her voice assumed that menacing tone, though her tomato blush took the edge of it. "You'd better, it was your fault anyway!" She slapped my hand and teleported away.

"What was _that_ about?" Asuna demanded, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Nothing serious." I took my own crystal, "I'll talk her out of it." and warped back to our home.

* * *

I couldn't find her. I knew she was alive, but the damned rat could hide like no one else. By the end of the day, hours after the boss fight, I haven't had a single word from Kirito, Asuna didn't know of him, and Argo was avoiding me. Yukari was giving me a cold shoulder! _Yukari!_

No sign of Chihiro and Liz either, though in their case is kind of understandable. At least I kept my mouth shut after explaining it was an accident. One less misunderstanding that way.

I looked at the multitude of girls on my bed until my eyes settled in a familiar face. "Liz? What are you doing here?" On my bed, on a strapless top and side tie underwear with only a see through baggy pants, I left unsaid. I knew where she got those ones. Silvine gave her.

"You don't have to look away." She said on a small, hesitant voice. I wasn't… Well, maybe, I think I was glaring at said mischievous NPC.

Now that I think of it, Silvine has taken to sleeping with me recently, even though she usually stayed with Argo…

"I know you're there." The blacksmith looked at me like I was crazy, and I simply raised my palm at her, the well-known gesture of 'wait'.

"Took you long enough, Shiro-kun." She came out from the middle of the other girls, wearing the same type of outfit Lizbeth was, though the details were different.

"At least I know the lock function still work." She wasn't hiding. She didn't even try. Because she hadn't needed too. I never really paid much attention to the NPC girls that shared my sleeping space, and if you don't focus on someone, the cursor won't appear. In the same type of clothing, and keeping out of my direct field of vision, she managed to slip in before I locked the room for the night.

Lizbeth was looking at Argo in surprise, probably just noticing she had been there all along, and then at me in curiosity. "She has been sneaking in even with the door locked, and I was afraid she had found a way to unlock doors in Aincrad." Which would be _disastrous_. If she had, our enemies might have too, and I doubt their intended use would be to sneak in my bedroom, well, no, they would probably _want_ to sneak in my bedroom, just not in my _bed_.

"Have you ever thought of being an Assassin?" I asked the small girl. "You certain have the talent." She was simply laying there on her stomach, swinging her feet back and forth in the air, supporting her triumphantly smirking face in her hands.

"Do you know I can operate _your_ menu without your consent Shirou?" She asked conversationally. Even Liz tensed, understanding the potential dangers of such an ability. "I might not see it, but if I move your hands through the motions, I can take whatever I want from, or do pretty much _anything_ to you. I could have married you half a month ago."

My impromptu pink haired companion glared at her, but I was more interested in the potential uses of that newfound knowledge. "So that's _why_ you have been sneaking in? Did it occur to you, perhaps you could have just asked?"

"I _could_-ne. It wouldn't have been so _fun_ though." She giggled lightly, probably at my troubled expression. "'Sides, it's not only that. I enjoy sleeping with you."

Lizbeth had enough at that. "That's it! Out with you!" She pushed the rat out of bed, but the more agile girl dragged her along, both tumbling through the pillows in a tangle of limbs and silk. Some of the NPCs made surprised gasps, others squealed, others giggled at the silly scene. "He is _my _husband, not yours, so get out and stop peeping on us!" I wisely averted eyes from the scene, seeing them grappling at each other in that kind of outfits would be kind of… _embarrassing_. And let's leave it at that.

* * *

"Catfight, tehee." Matsu giggled at the screen like a kid.

"Come on, tear your clothes off already!" Uzume on the other hand was much more direct. Or frustrated.

I just closed the door and left. I don't want to witness my son's first time (or at least I _hope_ is the first time). Knowing that Matsu and Uzume will watch already makes me uncomfortable, but the two of them are already dead set into marrying them too.

"You seem pale, old lady-san." And I just _had_ to meet with her.

"Not now 03." Disregarding my common sense, I plunged my hands on her _assets_ to take her sake reserve, much to her displeasure. "Pay you back later. I need this _badly._"

"Hey you! That's _mine_!"

"So is _my_ husband. And I have a name." I just waved the _former_ disciplinary squad operative and went into the elevator, happy that I got the last word.

Only when I went into the lab that it dawned on me: What was she doing there?! There's only SAO interns on that floor!


	13. - Dark Magical Nights -

My first clue something was off, was when I brought my hands to rub the sleep of my eyes.

"Small?" I looked closely to said appendage only to realize it was really smaller than I remembered, then the unfamiliar bedroom I woke up into.

I got up and looked for the closest mirror, trusting my feet guide me to it as I have done in the most realities until now.

"Hmn, younger than usual. What was that crazy man thinking?"

"Shirou! Wake up or you'll be late for school!" I heard a familiar voice call from outside.

No, it couldn't be.

Before I noticed I was running, until I saw the inquiring face of my Father and launched myself to tackle him in an embrace.

"Another nightmare?" Ha asked while patting my back in a calming motion. I forced myself to nod until I could think of a better explanation. "Don't worry, it's alright. Now let's wash your face and eat before your mother decides to bash our heads with that frying pan again."

He put me on his lap with a grunt, and rolled his wheelchair to the bathroom.

"Dad…" My mind was running over a thousand miles per hour. How do I ask the question without sounding like someone else? "… You're not going to die, are you?"

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "_Everyone_ dies Shirou. I hope I last a few years more, but having met your family, your mother… Well is more than I_ deserve_ already. Is that what you dreamed off? I was dying?" I nodded. "Don't worry then. I'm tougher than that."

He pushed me off and rolled away to parts unknown, leaving me in the bathroom, looking at my young reflection in the bathroom mirror. 'What kind of universe am in?'

A breakfast later, I had managed to ascertain a few key facts: One: Father is alive, and remarried with_ Takami_. Two: He somehow managed to get Ilya back. Three: Having _two_ sisters who don't seem to get the concept of personal space is a _pain_.

"Onii-chan, have you got a girlfriend yet?" Yukari questioned from my left.

"Haven't you asked him that_ yesterday_? Of course he wouldn't have one, when would have they met? In his dreams?" Ilya thankfully saved me from answer that question. "Why do you even want him to get one? Haven't we decided to make him a man when he turns eighteen?" She gave a playful slap on my younger sister's head.

Yukari responded with a show of tongue and one word that left me utterly dubious of her innocence even at such tender age: _Foursome_. Worse of all, Ilya seemed to _think_ about it.

Instinct took off, and I ran away, let my feet carry me to the school, happy to have equations and formulas and grammatical rules to occupy my head instead of such thoughts.

* * *

After my first round of classes I had to admit I disliked school enough that I was willing to put with my _completely inappropriately insane sisters_. Other than that, is not like I could play 'Fake Janitor' in this _particular_ school.

The place was _Clean_, yes deserving of a capital C. And so new that I could swear it was build yesterday. Not even my structural analysis could detect any damage or broken thing worth of note. And I have tried.

The subjects are above usual level, and though I had solved the math problem with ease (only because anyone would learn after enough high-school universes), I could see a lot of the students struggling with it.

The newest addiction to the class however, seemed to solve it like she was _bored_ beyond belief. Something in her posture seemed to spark a sense of familiarity within me, like I have seen it somewhere…

Anyway, classes were over for the day, and I was called, more like dragged, to have fun with my sisters in the mall.

"And then she fell down and flashed her pink panties to everyone in the line. She was so red I thought she was going to burst!" Yuki laughed at some girl misfortune.

"You should have gone help her. What if it happens to you?" I pointed it out, and Ilya nodded.

"What? But I would have lost my place in the line!"

"What is more important? A person's dignity or a place in a line?"

"Mou, you're being mean again onii-chan!"

Then I heard it. 'Save me!' A high pitched voice called, though I seemed to be the only one who heard it.

"Excuse me, I have to…" I pointed to the bathroom.

"Go ahead oni-chan! And think of _me_!" Ilya slapped Yukari's head and I could see they starting a new staring contest.

'Someone save me!' I find myself following the voice to the stairs, and I jumped over the warning about a floor undergoing renovation or something like that. People get attacked and hurt in deserted places like that, and if evil creatures or people think they can get away with these things when _I_ can do something to prevent that, they will learn that some children can be quite dangerous.

I heard steps and saw another girl in there, and once she took note of me, she instantly asked if I was the one who needed help.

"No, but I heard it too." I answered and she nodded.

"Anyone here?" I asked aloud, but got no answer either.

I heard strange noises from above, and the smell of magic and steel assaulted my noses. Pushing my impromptu partner back, I took guard when one of the ceiling tiles dropped, revealing a… very mangled… I don't think I have ever seen something quite like **it** actually, but contemplation of potentially new species of pets aside, my pink haired companion picked the hurt furry creature, and I stepped in front of her when I another girl (just my luck) dropped from the ceiling shaft.

"Homura-chan?"

* * *

_**KALEIDOSCOPE - PART FOUR - DARK MAGICAL NIGHTS**_

_**PROLOGUE - A CALL FOR HELP**_

* * *

"Ok, so you know each other?" I asked without thinking. "And why are you torturing the little white… Animal?" I need more information here before I start taking sides.

"Go away, and leave this thing here." The serious one snapped in a harsh tone. Wait! She is from our class! The _transfer student_! Why always the_ transfer_students!?

"But… he is hurt!" The pink haired girl cried while cuddling the pet.

"This has nothing to do with you."

"I don't know who is right here, but-" I tried to sound stern, but in my younger self voice I sounded more confused than anything… and before I could even appeal for their logic and common sense, smoke washed over us, and I heard two sets of steps walking away.

I followed obviously. The pink haired girl seemed a good person, and at least for now, an ally in this mess. Not to mention they're not fighters and the other girl seems to know magic and haven't showed much _restraint_. If I don't know the right side, I'll defend the weaker one until I can understand enough.

"What is that Madoka? It's it_ alive_?" The newcomer asked my companion, no Madoka.

"I don't know, all I know is that he is hurt and _called_ for help!"

As we neared the exit, a chill washed through my spine, and the smell of rotting life hit my nose like a ton of bricks. If the magic presence wasn't obvious enough, some sort of illusion washed the world in the form of a collage of shapes and forms that moved by itself…

"The exit, where is the exit?" The short haired girl who intervened before cried in confusion.

"I don't know, the corridor keeps changing!" The newly named Madoka started panicking.

"Keep calm you two! We have to think of a way out!" I started focusing and triggered my Structural Analysis to hopefully find my way despite the illusory layer…

_Pain_. If my life was observed from outside, many would consider me an _expert_ in Pain and its various nuances… My failed attempts at magecraft, my (mostly one-sided) confrontations with Heroic spirits and other insanely strong beings, the many times I have been overloaded by my own magic circuits…

I could say this one was new, but not _completely_, it remembered me of when I saw things beyond my comprehension like Ea or the Jinki. Things that aren't supposed to be part of our _world_.

"…okay?" Someone shook my shoulders. "Hey you! Snap out of it!"

"My name is Shirou." I answered immediately "…and I'm okay, I think."

"We're not so fine right now! Look!" The more serious of the two pointed over a few hills (how do we even have space for hills here _inside_?) to a few monsters (and I use the term loosely) looking like cotton candy sticks with beady eyes and mustaches (yes, _seriously_), and floating scissors in barbed wire who had us surrounded.

Thankfully I could feel the thrum of my circuits flaring into life beneath the surface of my skin. "**I am made of -**" Yet before I could continue, a bright light fell around us, along with a circle of chains.

"Wow, that was close. Thanks for rescuing Kyubey, he is a dear friend of mine." Another feminine voice spoke from behind us.

"You're welcome." I responded automatically, scanning around for more enemies.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of them." She winked, and I swear, she drew a _magical circle_ with one of her toe tips while spinning on the tip of the other feet and making a few _dance_ steps, then she made a honest-to-The-Root magical girl _Henshin_ right in front of us!

A gesture of her hand to the side, and an old styled decorated musket manifested itself along with _hundreds_ of copies of the same weapon, showering our enemies with flaming bullets.

'Is that how it feels to be on the receiving end of my Sword Rain?' I couldn't help but think. The world around us resumed itself to the normal space and form, and I continued to stare.

"You're gaping. And that's rude." The short haired one poked my ribs with her elbow.

"Seems like the witch got away." She looked up to the other … _Magical Girl_, my mind supplied the term helpfully (since I have no other way of defining them) "If you want her, you better chase her quickly." I filled the 'witch' term for later research, while the serious one stared at the blonde girl in a way that reminded me a bit of Rei, despite the different eye colors. The calm of the blonde girl never wavered though. "You can have this one."

A pause. "I'm here on business." She never looked at me or_ it_, but I was sure she wanted to kill the furr-, erm Kyubey.

I tensed for the battle, and the blond simply smiled "You didn't understood. I'm saying _I'll let you go_." Another pause, and when the dark haired girl didn't moved she continued... "Wouldn't be better for us to avoid unnecessary fights?" This seemed to placate the girl, who shot a last look at us and turned to leave.

Then she turned to us and I tensed once more. "This is the part where you kill us to keep your secret from being exposed right?" Kanshou and Bakuya were almost traced, and I was already in my favored stance between she and the two girls.

"Why would I do that?" She seemed genuinely surprised. A gesture later and a blanked appeared in front of us where she knelled "I believe you have a lot of questions, but, would you mind if I healed Kyubey first?" She motioned us to sit.

I relaxed a bit and sighed. Well, if she was willing to resort to non-violent means then it should be alright…

* * *

I walked back with them, lost in my thoughts.

_"Thank you Kaname Madoka, Miki Sayaka and Shirou Emiya!" The creature spoke without moving any facial muscles._

_"Erm, you're welcome."_

_"I have a request for you three though: Would you make a contract with me and become magical girls?"_

_"Contract?" The one named Miki asked, while my brain felt the need to point out:_

_"Magical boy in my case, right?"_

_"Erm, I can only make magical girls."_

_"Sorry but I'm comfortable with my gender." I heard the girls' laugh. "Sorry if I'm a bit rude, but is that why that girl trying to kill you? Was she a boy?" I might have to turn him to her if that is the case._

_"No." by its response I knew it wasn't really aware of how much certain parts meant to a boy…_

_"Okay, what about this contract?"_

_"Ah, It's like…"_

"Oni-chan where were-" Yukari gasped loudly. I followed her eyes to my current company and sighed.

"It's not like _that_." The response came automatically.

"So you weren't doing things no one could see in a place where no one is around until you were completely sweaty and dusty?" Ilya asked in a seemingly innocent fashion. Metaphorical warning bells started to fill my ears with alert sounds of the _highest_ grade, and she didn't stop there. "and it certainly didn't took long enough that your dear sister collapsed from her low blood pressure…"

"Ah-" Kaname and Miki-san both showed troubled expressions, the former with a gasp.

"If it wasn't _that_, then what it was?" Yukari pressed. Her smile wasn't fooling me for a second though.

No one knew dared to answer that particular question.


	14. Magic

_**CHAPTER 1 - MAGIC**_

* * *

I didn't manage to get much sleep that night.

"_My name is Tomoe Mami. As I'm sure you noticed I'm a Magical Girl." The other two girls looked at her in wonder and amazement. Before any of us could speak, she raised a delicate hand in the air. "I'm sure you have lots of questions, but I think it would be best if I explained this at more comfortable location. Would you mind following me home?"_

"_This could be a problem…" I spoke up. "I have lots of questions, but my sisters are waiting for me."_

"_Well then, allow me to explain the basics before." She produced a small glowing jewel inlaid in gold. "This is a Soul Gem. It's the proof of a contract and the source of power of a Magical Girl."_

"_This is the second time you mention a contract. What kind of contract are we talking about?"_

_It was Kyubey who spoke: "I could grant any wish you can think off. But in exchange, a soul gem is produced."_

"_Equivalent Exchange." I muttered. "What do you gain from producing one?"_

"_I have another Magical Girl to help fight witches." His red eyes focused on me._

"_What is a witch exactly? Are we talking about old ladies with warts and wrinkles all over their faces? Because I have this neighbor-" Miki started, but Tomoe giggled and shook her head._

"_Witches don't look human Sayaka-san. They're things like those you saw before. Formless and invisible for normal people, they feed on them, using their power to make familiars and then multiply themselves…"_

"_If Magical Girls are born from wishes, witches are born from curses." The small creature resumed._

"_Many suicides, unexplained accidents and deaths are actually caused by witch curses." The blonde girl spoke up again. _

I think it's the first time I was offered something in exchange for saving people… And right on the world I thought I was most fulfilled…

"_So he left you two to hang out with three girls?" Takami summed it up when Yukari finished her diatribe._

"_Actually I left to go to the bathroom, but I heard someone calling for help that happened to be Kaname-san and Miki-san. Mami-san just happened to hear and find them too."_

"_And helping them with __**what**__ exactly? Yukari said you left them for almost an hour…"_

"_They, well __**we**__ were lost in a floor undergoing renovation…" I left anything about magic unsaid, since I haven't received my local self memories I wasn't sure I, or we were aware of magic here._

"_I know you like helping people, and I think that is great Shirou, but try to being a bit more thoughtful ok?" Takami chided me._

_We finished the dinner in silence, but I noticed the serious looks my father was sending me. When he left with mom, I quickly finished my meal and I left to my room and reinforced my ears to listen their conversation…_

"_He is hiding something." My father's voice spoke seriously._

"_I noticed too." Mom seemed to agree. "…Especially when he mentioned that Mami girl." I cringed. Was I really that obvious? "I think our son got himself a girl."_

_Ugh. I don't know what is worse: Their misunderstanding or the fact I'm not sure I can tell the truth._

"_That was obvious from the start." Dad's voice continued. "But I felt residual prana in him. Not enough to say he was targeted by a spell, but more akin to being close to someone casting one."_

"_You think the girl is a Magi?" My mom's voice was full of worry._

"_I'm saying is a possibility. I'll look up her name and see what I can find."_

"_If she is, what would we do?"_

"_Break them up. I don't want Shirou or Yukari involved with that world." So I'm not supposed to know. But Ilya does._

"_That is a bit harsh, don't you think? What if she's a good girl?"_

"_There are no __**good**__ Magi, Takami. Not even me."_

"_Don't say that."_

"_It's true. I destroyed Irirsviel, I ruined Ilya's life, and I'm training her to participate in another bloodbath to make sure the world stays safe and she grows past twenty." Dad started crying. "Magi are monsters. And I'm no exception."_

"_Shhh, it's alright Kiri, it's alright."_

I gasped. Holy Grail is coming, Dad is training Ilya to win, _both _of them are dying, and I'm not supposed to know or do anything. What kind of twisted world I fell into?

* * *

…Next Day …

"You're up earlier." Dad noted from the kitchen.

Dad, in the _kitchen_. Uh oh.

"Dad." I tried to keep my shivers under control. Calm down, there no _visible_ fire or black smoke cloud… "What are you doing in the kitchen?"

He turned his chair to me and dried his hands, "Apparently my dear son was too tired from helping his girls to do the dishes he was supposed to." He delivered completely deadpan.

"Erm…_ I forgot_." That line sparked a flash of nostalgia within me for some reason.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

I fidgeted without really meaning. "Sorry." Well, it seems my 'memory loss' can affect even little things like this.

"Onii-chan!" Yukari tackled me to the floor. "Good moorning!"

Dad sighed. "Yukari Emiya. What did I said about jumping your brother!?" That couldn't have come out right. _Right_?

* * *

Days like this I have the urge to find something deserving and turn it into a pincushion.

First I was scolded by dad for something I didn't had a way to remember, then Ilya got mad at me because I was 'leaving her for a airheaded blonde' in her words. Then I have Yukari complaining for the same reason _all the way_ to the school (Ilya wasn't coming today apparently), and after I finally got away to my class…

The transfer student decided to try and drill a hole in my head with her stare._ All day long._

Why me, Zelrech? Why _me_?

On a positive note, Kyubey can use an interesting spell to allow us telepathic communication, so at least I had something to do other than watching classes on subjects I know by heart at this point. Even if it meant hearing girl talk all the morning.

"Are you coming Shirou-san?" Kaname-san asked me with a smile as soon as I crossed the class' door. Another girl who was talking with Miki-san gasped and ran away crying loudly about forbidden love.

"Just what was _that_?" I deadpanned.

"I could ask the same thing about your sisters." The short haired girl met my stare.

"Fair enough." I shrugged.

* * *

We sat at a nearby café's table, where we were waiting for Mami to join us. I could swear someone was watching me with murderous intent, and I could feel a myriad magical smells nearby: Steel, oil, linen, sulfur, smoke, and roses. Somehow, I haven't really noticed before, but these two other girls did have magic potential in them.

"So let's start you first Magical Girl Less-? _Shirou_?" Mami's face seemed surprised to see me when she arrived. "What are you doing here? I though you wasn't interested in becoming a Magical girl."

"I don't want to be a girl _at all_, but I might as well help you guys."

"How very noble of you." She gave me a positively dazzling smile. "I don't know how much of help you can be, but you come with us."

"Let's go already! I even came prepared!" Miki unraveled the bundle she was carrying, revealing a wooden baseball bat.

Not wanting to be dismissed, I put my hands in school bag and pulled two nameless daggers I've copied from Gilgamesh. As much as I'd love to use Kanshou and Bakuya, they are a tad too big to my current body, not to mention difficult to hide.

"I brought this."

"Knifes? That's even better than my bat." I shrugged at the short haired girl's look of surprise. Kaname-san seemed to fidget a bit and shrink on herself at that point so I offered one of the daggers to her and pulled the other on my waistband for holding. She reached tentatively to the renaissance-styled hilt and took it, and I nodded to her.

"Well, you never know. You can have this one if you want, I have brought plenty."

"Sometimes you scare me, Shirou." Mami shifted in her seat, putting herself between us and the line of sight of another pair of girls in another table. I quickly passed another dagger to Miki-san under the table, and with my hands inside my bag I traced another three.

"Ah, I collect antiques. Would you want one too, Mami-san?"

"Don't worry about me, really." She seemed more amused than worried at the idea that I was carrying an arsenal of knives to school. "Just out of curiosity: How did you pass the metal detectors?" She smiled knowingly.

_Damn,_ I knew I was forgetting something. "Ok. You got me there. Can we discuss this somewhere else?"

"Sure, we got a bit to walk after all." She motioned us to follow.

* * *

"So you can use magic, but only to make weapons appear out of air?" She seemed a bit surprised at the thought that a normal person could use magic.

"It's more useful than it seems, but I can only make weapons I have seen at least once." I made Beagalltach, the Little Fury of the legendary Duarmuid Ua Duibhne appear in my hands. It was more of a large dagger than a short sword and its decorated blade was said to leave no target unscathed of its blows. I noticed a larger drain of Od than I was used to, but considering I've been out of practice in tracing things for a while that is to be expected.

"Well, I doubt that your knives would hurt a witch, but at least you got something." Kyubei conceded. "Though if you made a contract, you'd probably be amazingly powerful if you can use magic as a mere human."

"Only if I get to remain a boy." I shook my head. "And I still have a few questions for you."

"It's there." Mami stopped and looked at a large abandoned building down the bridge we were crossing. At the two girls confused look, she elaborated with 'The witch, I mean.' And urged us into walking faster.

* * *

I wasn't quite prepared for the sheer intensity of the magic smell that assaulted me once we entered the barrier. The woman Mami-san saved from the suicide jump from before smelled the same rotting stink, but here inside I have to suppress my gag reflex to keep my lunch at bay. If yesterday's barrier smelled like leaving a rotting corpse in a closet for a week, now it feels like someone locked a whole _cemetery for months_ and left it to rot. How did it got so powerful in so little time?

"Are you alright Shirou-kun?" The Magical girl moved to me, but I shook my hand to stop her.

"Just a bit overwhelmed. I'll be fine."

"All right then. Girls," She smiled at my glare. "Shirou, keep your guards up." Then she touched the bat at Miki's hand and turned it into a decorated mace. "And don't stray far from me."

I looked at the weird reality (Could it be considered _real_?) around us, and used my sword to slash a creature that looked like a slime with three eyes once it got in range. Mami moved with practiced ease, shooting, bashing the creatures around with her rifles and even kicking some.

Then after a particularly tight group that she dissipated with a fusillade from her _wall_ of weapons, the very floor dragged us through many doors that welcomed us further in the place until we faced its very ruler.

It couldn't be called human by any stretch of imagination, looking like the cross between a human heart (the real, non-stylized variety) and cocoon, with a bush of roses for a head, butterfly wings and sitting on an old styled sofa. Somehow the name _Gertrud_ came to my mind, as if offering to define the aberrant existence.

"Stay put."Mami took the mace from Miki, and turned its magic into a barrier, jumping down in front of the aberration. I moved to follow, but the short haired girl held my arm, making me pause.

The monster threw the couch at Mami, who simply manifested two rifles from under her skirt with a curtsy (weird, I know), and used the one shot weapons to destroy the offending object. A wave of her cap, and many other muskets embedded themselves in the ground, while the monstrosity seemingly understanding her intent took the walls with speed unfit for something so big.

The magical girl shot weapon after weapon, as if she was on a festival's shooting stand, until the small moving things around her turned into some sort of tentacle and wrapping the Magical Girl.

I have watched enough. My sword flew into the appendage, Kanshou and Bakuya appearing in my hands not a second latter. The falling girl also took something (I could swear it was a _ribbon_) and manifested a pistol at least _five times_ her own size.

"Tiro… Finale!" Kicking the wall for support, she shot and completely disintegrated the aberration, falling with a graceful pirouette, a smile on her face and a tea mug in her hands.

"Thanks for the help." She graced me with another of her smiles. "_Tea_?"

"Uhn… It's nothing." I scratched the back of my head with the pommel of my black blade, my other weapon dissipating to accept the sweet smelling beverage. "Thanks." And wow, it was_ good_.

The world reformed itself into normal, as well as Mami's clothing, my own empty cup (it was _that_ good!) dissolving into nothingness. The only remaining thing on the building a small black pin in form of an orb.

"This is a Grief Seed." The blonde girl collected the thing. "It's a Witch's egg, and their counterpart to ours Soul Gems."

As if reading my mind, Kyubey answered: "Don't worry, it's safe in that form." With Mami continuing: "Actually it's extremely useful." She pulled her Soul Gem, and showed it to us. "It's a bit darker than yesterday, right?" She then pulled it closer to the seed and it absorbed something from the Gem, giving back its original shine. "Doing this, all magic I used is restored."

"Wait, wait, _wait_!" I brought my hand up. "Kyubey gives a wish in exchange for turning you into a Magical Girl, which creates a Soul Gem sparklingly shiny, and when you use your magic, it becomes darker," She nodded. "Until you find those Grief Seeds which cleanse your jewels back to full."

"Uh, yes. I don't see the question in there." She noted, to which the two other girls nodded.

"But if it _replenished_ your magic, why do I see black matter_ leaving_ your gem to the seed and not shinning matter leaving the _seed_ to your gem?"

She made a surprised face. "Never thought about it. Kyubey?"

"Using the magic against witches taints your Soul Gem, and since evil attracts more evil, bringing he tainted Gem near a grief seed cleanses it." The fluffy pet answered. He was nonchalant about the whole thing, or better yet about _everything_. I don't think he is capable of understanding human emotions very well…

"Uh, makes sense." I admitted. "So, what happens to the seeds if you do that?"

"Once they taint past certain point, they became dangerous and I eat them."

"You _eat_ them." I looked at its form.

"It's safe for me. And it gives me energy." I repeated his words in my mind for a while as we left, until my eyes widened in understanding.

Now it makes sense! That is where he gets the power to grant the wishes! 'He is like a magic purifier!' My respect for the little furry rose a good deal.

* * *

Kiritsugu's cellphone rang, making him take his eyes off the computer's screen. "What did you found?"

"I followed them to an abandoned building, where the girl used some sort of cloth based mystic code to manifest magical ribbons and save a woman from suicide."

"Who?"

"A stranger. It seemed they were tracking her there the whole time using another code, this one looking like a gem. Then they got inside, and a powerful bounded field activated, and then dissipated after a few moments."

"Any clue why?" The old man prompted.

"None…" A pause. "It seems Shirou is capable of Magecraft."

"_What_?!"

"He seem to be able to create bladed weaponry out of his magic."

"Gradation air."

"No, considerably more powerful _and_ efficient."

"Understood. Come back home Ilya."

"Yes dad."


	15. Heroes

_**CHAPTER 2 - HEROES**_

* * *

_Two days earlier…_

_Mami-san then threw her Grief Seed to the darkness of a nearby door. "Here. It's probably good for another use."_

"_Homura?" I looked to the darkened room, the only possible hiding place nearby. Apparently the Non-Magical girls hadn't noticed her yet._

"_You killed it, you keep it." She threw it back, turned and left._

"_Antisocial bitch."_

_A familiar smell assaulted my nostrils as soon as the faint smell of steel and oil dissipated. "Can I touch it?" I raised my hands at Mami._

"_WHAT?!" Miki screamed and Kaname blushed._

"_You meant the Grief Seed right?" The blonde girl asked, calming the other two._

"_Of course, what have you thought-" I looked at my hand height. "Oh. Sorry." She only smiled and passed it to me._

_Raising it closer to my face I took as sniff and focused. Definitely familiar._

"_What are you doing Shirou?" Mami asked in curiosity._

"_It's kind of a complicated story, but I can detect magic as if it was a smell, and I thought the grief seed smelled kind of familiar."_

"_You can smell magic!?" Kaname asked me with surprised eyes._

It triggered a round of 'what do I smell like' after they discovered he could identify them by scent alone. But the real surprise was when I finally discovered that the familiar scent of a grief seed came from, none other than my own father…

"… _So I was thinking… Can it help him like it does with the Soul Gems?" I asked Kyubey once we were coming back from our last witch hunt._

"_It's __possible__. But I never seem or heard of a human who could be tainted by such cursed evil and survived."_

"_Apparently there are many things from this world that you don't know." I snorted._

"_True. I'm not a god after all. But why don't you simply wish for your father's recovery?"_

"_Is it possible? Even if he is tainted by 'such a curse'?"_

"_I don't see why not. It only depends on __how__ you wish." Mami noted, and then turned to the two girls. "What about you two, thought of anything yet?"_

_Kaname shook her head in negative. Miki hesitated but asked: "Can a wish be used for someone else then?"_

"_Yes." The more experienced girl nodded, but I could see her tense. "I would advise against it though." She sighed. "Do you want his wish to come true? Or do you want to be the person who will make his wish come true?"_

"_I'm not following you." I grumbled. "How helping others could be wrong?" The two nodded at my question._

"_Not wrong per se. I'm just asking __why__ she wants to help him. You have to think before you make your choice, after all, you're risking your life for it. I just don't want her to make a choice she'll regret it later."_

"_If you're that wise, what did you wished for?" Miki made a sour face, and the blonde marksman froze._

"_In my case, I haven't had the time or choice." She continued after a while. "Faced with death, I wished to live on, and so I did. I don't regret it, and probably never will." She smiled. "I don't regret saving people either."_

"_Who would?" I smiled back and asked._

"_Said hero-kun. Anyway, don't rush your decisions, take your time and think things through."_

"_Sooner the better for me." Kyubey quipped in._

"_That won't do. Girls hate guys who rush things up." Mami glared at him._

"_Shirou isn't a girl." He noted._

"_Not yet at least." Miki smirked at me._

"_Nor __ever__." I snorted back._

* * *

_Once home, I went straight to the bath, and mom intercepted me the moment I came out. "When are you bringing your girl to meet us, Shirou? Yukari said she is most pretty and cheerful." She asked with a smirk._

_I couldn't help but quip: "I'm pretty sure she hasn't used _those_ words… And they're not my girlfriends."_

"_No, but that changes nothing. And of course _they_ aren't. You're not dating all the three girls, I'd like to think I taught you better! Which of the three is your girlfriend?"_

_I sweated at her face and changed the subject. "Is Ilya better?" I haven't seen onee-chan much in the last days, and mom said she isn't feeling very well._

"_She is just feeling under the weather. Your father has been taking care of her, but she mostly needs rest." She put a hand to my shoulder reassuringly. "Now let's get dinner."_

* * *

_The next day …_

_I woke up cuddling a warm body, and moved myself to take a look at the clock. 5:30, ok, It's Sunday so I can afford… Wait! __Warm body__?!_

_Throwing the blanket out I find with no surprise Ilya and Yukari on my bed. I could feel my face twitching._

* * *

"_I don't see anything wrong with that." Dad deadpanned. "The three of you were clothed right?"_

"_Even so…"_

"_Besides, you've been neglecting them, no, __all of us__ recently, as if you have been hiding something from us…" He gave me a knowing look. "Have you Shirou?"_

"_I just don't think it's proper."_

"_It never bothered you before. Why now?"_

_Urk. Why couldn't I have my local self memories like every time I get in a new universe? "Nevermind."_

"_I thought so. By the way, I hope you're staying home today."_

"_Actually Yukari wanted to go out today. Ilya seems to be feeling better so she is coming too."_

_He shrugged. "Have fun."_

* * *

I suppose it_ should_ be a fun thing, spending the day with both my sisters, and going to the mall, park and then to the pool.

In this case, it is _not_. Maybe because I'm too nervous being around them. Maybe because don't know how should I react, what should I say, or what I shouldn't say. Worse of all, I miss Ilya a lot, and I love Yukari (in a completely brotherly way, unlike her), but the morning was so uncomfortable that I thanked the Root and all the deities I could muster when I bumped with Kaname-san in a dead run through the street. Especially since I had a got an accidental peek of my sisters' choice of swimwear earlier this morning.

"Shirou-san! It's urgent, do you have Mami-san's number?" She grabbed my arm.

I pulled my phone and dialed the number from memory, put the phone to my ears. "Shirou-kun, what a surprise-"

"No time Mami-san, hum," I shot a sideways look at my two sisters. "something has come up, we need you to meet us in eastern plaza right now. Bye."

I looked at my sisters.

"Go." Ilya said simply, and dragged Yukari away, for which I'm thankful.

* * *

As we arrived on the hospital, I could already see the barrier up and running, and no sign of Miki around. Bringing her ring, Mami opened us a passage into the witch's lair.

Another twisted world.

Giant medicine bottles, candy-looking creatures crawling in the darkness, and the smell of soured syrup. A hint of…

Machinery Oil?

"Turn back and leave this one to me." We heard the sharp voice of Homura from behind us.

"I thought I said I didn't want to look at you again." Or Magical companion made a movement and wrapped the girl in ribbons.

I snickered.

"What?" She asked me.

"I think you just packed a Greek gift." Homura glowered at me.

Both of my companions snickered.

"Let's go."

"Idiot, this one is not like the others you fought so far!" The girl struggled against her bonds.

"Shouldn't we listen to her?" Kaname hesitated.

Mami shook her head. "I don't think so. If she wanted to help, she'd be teaming up with us from the start." Well, I can't argue with _that_ logic, but what if Homura's worries have some basis.

"Anyway, we better be cautious." We pushed a door open and got to another area.

We walked in silence for a while, until Kaname drew a sharp intake of air along with our attention. "Hum, I think I decided on my wish." The pink haired girl stuttered at our looks, "I think you're going to get mad at me though…" especially the Magical girl's.

I frowned. "We can at least _talk_ about it, right? It can't be _that_ bad?" Mami nodded.

"I was never good at anything at school, or other things, and I was afraid I was going to simply stumble through life, until I met you, Mami-san." She paused and took a deep breath. "There's nothing I wish more than help people, so I thought maybe my wish will come true if I become a Magical Girl."

I blinked at her. Here I thought she was just following us around because Miki-san was, simply because she was kind of shy and didn't wanted to displease her friend.

"It's harder than you'd think." Mami's voice was serious, but not hard. "You'll get hurt, you won't have time to go out or hang with friends."

"But if I could become like Mami-san and-"

"Dealing with Magic is a walk with death." I spoke up. "You have to be ready for sacrifices, and to make them without expecting reward." Both of them looked at me. "Yet… helping people is never wrong, and no choice can make your life brighter. Even if you have to walk and live in the shadows, your life will be the light of your path."

"Wow." Madoka smiled.

"You should speak up like this more often." Mami giggled. "You sounded so wise I'd swear you were more experienced than I. Still you guys shouldn't wish to become like me."

"But Mami-san is so strong, and she never backs down or run away."

"Is true that I never run away…" She sounded hurt "…but is not because I'm brave and bold. I'm someone who doesn't have _where__ to run_ or _who_ to fall back when I'm scared or sad. Someone… who always cry alone."

I saw her as if for the first time. Even with my own suicidal tendencies, I've always had my friends, or rather my family, biological or not to watch out for me. This girl, so like me, yet so _different_, so… _unbroken_… was alone, and scared. "You have me." I spoke up without realizing, and she looked at me in surprise, tears trailing her face.

"And you'll have me too!" Madoka grabbed her hands. "You'll not be alone anymore!"

She jumped and tackled us in an emotive embrace.

"Erm, shouldn't we hurry and take the witch out?" I tried to ignore certain body parts pressing against my torso and her legs moving against mine.

"Don't worry, the seed haven't hatched yet." Kyubey's voice spoke in our heads. "Take your time to choose your wish." Doesn't he think of _anything_ else?

Mami's sniffed and cleaned her tears. "By the way? What are you wishing for?"

"Ah, I have no idea."

"Wish for me to remain a boy." I spoke up.

"Why not a grand feast, with lots of cake. Then we make a party and celebrate your joining of our Magical Girl Team!" I looked at our blonde friend's suggestion in surprise.

"_Cake_?" I spoke along with Madoka, but she continued alone: "I'm going to become a magical girl for _cake_?"

"Yeah, that's _dumb_." I agreed.

"Well, I'd kill for a large sweet cake right now. And you're the one who said you didn't have a wish."

"I'll think of something, but I'm not wishing for cake!" The younger girl cried.

"Besides, I can make better cake than you could wish for." I frowned.

"Mami-san, the seed is awakening!" Miki spoke up through the link.

"Okay, you'll have until I finish this one to think of something."

"Wait!" Then Mami was off. Like a flash, she transformed and brought her weapons, dancing with lightness I never seen before, a dazzling smile in her face and raging muskets in her hands. I frowned and jumped at her side, calling forth my two favored blades.

"Ooh, you're helping too?" She swapped directions with me and I slashed at two nearby foes.

"I'm not letting you do everything by yourself. Besides, you were a bit too reckless jumping down when you could shoot them from above." I chided her. "Be careful."

She laughed and made another one of her weapons, throwing me a mock salute. "Yes sir!" and motioning us to the door.

We found Miki hiding besides a giant donut, while a package not unlike a cake mix's one shook and twisted way up a tall and slim table.

The witch manifested itself from it, this one looking like a pink headed ragdoll, wearing a black kerchief with orange polka dots and a red scarf.

_Charlotte_. Once more a name inexplicably popped on my head, and before I noticed, Mami was already kicking the chair and hitting the falling witch. "I said be careful, dammit." I mumbled.

Still, it seemed my worries were for nothing, and that witches were born much weaker than its developed counterparts, for the little thing let itself be thrown around like… well, like a ragdoll. It evaded a few shots, sure, but Mami anticipated its fall and caught the little toy-like creature in the tube of her giant gun. Swinging it up, she threw the witch using the momentum, "Tiro Finale!" and shot it in mid-fall.

The head ceased to exist and I calmed up. One should always keep their emotions in check whe-

Then another head grew up in place, or rather, the kerchief seemingly turned into a head, and stretched itself like a surprise box.

Towards a frozen shocked Mami.

I saw it open its mouth in slow motion, and reacted on autopilot. My chest heated and my breath accelerated, but Caladbolg II broke and launched at the thing without the need of a bow, while I launched myself at Mami in a fraction of a second.

The backlash launched us at one of the walls, but I stood up immediately and accessed the damage, ignoring the searing pain in my body, especially my back and my right leg. Both of us had our arms broken, my left and her right, and she seemed to be unconscious and bleeding from her side. Her legs were both severely hurt and I had a bone shard poking of my own aching one, probably courtesy of my _failed_ reinforcement.

The thing moved again, its ugly head rearing up and shaking. Mami was someone I have grown to respect in this short time, someone who was like me, a survivor and a hero, and she was a person who risked herself for others. She didn't deserve to suffer.

And that thing was _laughing_ at us, laughing at my friends _suffering_.

"**I am the bone of my sword**." Swords formed at my side at a frantic pace. All of them were broken and fired, until the very world around dissolved and I discovered the witch has ceased to be.

_Then_ I felt the pain. Then I felt my body _cook_, and my blood _boil_.

"…" I saw Miki and Madoka over us, their lips moving and tears on their eyes, but I couldn't hear their voices, I didn't felt their touch. I only felt _pain_.


	16. Wish

_**CHAPTER 3 - WISH**_

* * *

Akemi Homura fell from her satiny prison, just as she expected. Unexpected however, was the barrier dissolving a moment later. _If_ Mami managed to defeat the witch, then the barrier and her captivity should have dissolved _together_, and if the Witch had killed Mami, the barrier should still be up.

She pondered both facts as she returned to the hospital front yard with them, and she also noted that though none of the other two girls had formed a contract, Mami was in a very sorry stated, and the _anomaly_ on top of her wasn't faring much better.

* * *

I took the grief seed from the ground, intent on giving it to them, despite the very vocal complaints and insults of Miki Sayaka, but a distant glint caught my eyes when I was rising up.

A familiar glint of small curved lenses from atop of a building.

A _Sniper_!?

Time froze at my command, the grief seed was put near the girls and I dashed to it. Madoka wouldn't die. I will not_ let_ Madoka die!

The sniper was across the street, a tall building perfectly suited for _her_ task. She was small, around 10 years old, her choice weapon (a Remington 700) nearly matching her own size, and her silver hair and fair features advertising her foreign blood.

I pointed a pistol at the girl, and time resumed. "Who ar-"

"T- -er."

The girl _moved_.

_Impossibly_ fast, she turned, pointing guns at each my face in response, her choices of weaponry a Beretta M12 and a Contender Hand Cannon to match my Desert Eagle. (I knew I should have used my Beretta, but noo, I _had_ to choose the big gun to try and scare her…)

Our eyes crossed and I saw myself reflected on them. This girl, she is _not_ a naïve, cheerful Magical Girl or just a _mere_ experienced fighter. She is a _killer_. Much like me, she is not someone who would show mercy or think twice before pulling the trigger.

And she is not going to say anything about what she is doing here either.

Time stopped again, but this time she still moved.

"What?!" She was like a slow motion picture, and she fired two equally slow bullets at me. I moved myself down, drew my other pistol and fired both in response unfreezing time to let they move forward.

My bullets continued forward, but never hit her. I heard the sound of metal hitting metal and another round being fired behind her, and we both turned in surprise, four guns pointing at her previously discarded rifle.

Screams were heard below.

* * *

That Homura was gone in a blink, and I ran to the hospital reception to call for help. I have no idea of _how_ I'm going to explain _that_, but it doesn't mean I'm going to abandon Shirou and Mami-san to death because I fear a few questions.

As I had barely reached the reception, I heard a cacophony of loud sounds in the air and Madoka's scream.

That sounds right now… Oh my god! Those were _shots_!

I ran back, the noise and screams calling a few doctors to attention, to find my best friend covered in blood and my new friends bleeding even _worse_ than before. I froze in fear and uncertainty as the nurses and the doctor dragged the two of them to the emergency treatment.

I followed numbly behind, until a nurse stopped me from entering the surgery center.

"This can't be happening." I muttered to myself. My strength leaving my legs, I sat and cried on one of the chairs near the door, not really noticing I passed out, only awakening when a police officer took me to an empty room.

I was offered coffee, and he asked many questions that I only answered with 'I don't know' or 'I don't remember'. Then officer and doctor deliberated a few things just by the door, most prominent being the words, 'stray bullet', 'traffic accident' and 'trauma induced amnesia'. Unable to stay put, I ran once more to the surgery room, only to find it _empty_.

A nurse helpfully pointed me to the room just by the end of the corridor, and I found myself with Madoka again, her arm bandaged at the wrist.

"The nurse says Mami might never awake again, and Shirou will be crippled for life if he does." My longtime friend grabbed my shirt and soaked it with their tears. I stroke her head and joined her cries, and we both sat there until a long haired doctor hurried to the door with a nurse in toll.

"Is that a beep?" I heard my own hoarse voice ask. No, that was wrong. It wasn't _beeping_ when it should. It was a constant whining noise like those TV shows, when we hear a heart monitor's when…

More doctors poured in, and I noticed their panicked faces once Madoka lifted her face from my shoulder.

No. NonoNO**NO**, that's not happening! Not if I could help it!

I lifted myself up and moved to the window marching with certainty I knew I didn't felt yet, where Kyubey looked at us expectantly. "You have decided I see." I just nodded, as my voice has just failed to function a while ago. "...-san to h-." I took a deeper breath, moistening my throat the best I could.

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple thing to fix. Onii-chan has fallen in love with a Magi, and I had to get rid of her if she proves to be a threat. I'd be merciful and give her a quick and painless death, them wipe out Onii-chan and his friends memories of her. Not exactly the best of solutions _morally_ speaking, but then again, is not like Magi are very moral creatures.

I'd have to hunt the other Magi girl too, and the weird white familiar _if_ it survived, but that could be accomplished later.

Until I had that witch alone, I was to observe them from afar, only acting if Onii-chan's life was in danger.

I knew I had my opportunity to try and figure the blonde magi's motivations when his classmate Kaname Madoka appeared in the middle of our date, completely distraught and in a dead hurry.

It took hypnosis to make Yukari go home, and I lost a few moments retrieving my gear, but soon enough, I tracked my familiar to Shin-Tokyo's hospital. Setting my sniper's nest, I sat and watched the Bounded Field's exit, raising my respect for the two magus a notch.

It takes some high degree of skill to warp space in such an improbable fashion, especially if it's large enough to fit four people inside.

Nearly an hour later they came out. Onii-chan and his girl were battered and broken, the two girls were panicking and the other girl seemed to be taking something of the floor. Correction, _five _people and a pet.

Due the circumstances is safe to assume she took the short haired classmate of onii-chan as a hostage and used the barrier to try and kill them. Dad would probably be angry and say I'm going soft, but I'll kill kuro-chan and take blondie for questioning.

I made the necessary corrections for the wind, and took aim, flipping the safety off, but right when I was to shot, she looked straight at me and disappeared. "Oh sh- **Time Alter**." I focused my prana in the Emiya Crest and my own circuits, stretching time to a double and reinforcing my own body to withstand the pressure.

"Who are-?" I pointed my own weapons at her, despite the fact she also had me at gun point. My focus was split between both my circuits, readying myself to use the time distortion again in case she uses her weird magic to move again.

She twitched, and I accelerated again, four times, accidentally discovering her own ability to be the both different and the _same _as mine. Against all sanity, I fired both weapons at her, just as she fired hers at me, and turned my crest to the maximum acceleration managing to barely evade the shots from both her pistols.

My body burned and ached, but the screams bellow chilled that heat into oblivion. I_ knew_ those voices, those were Onii-chan's friends.

The black haired time manipulator also ignored me in favor of them, disappearing from there while I dragged my feet to look at my damaged weapon, the very source of the bullet.

"What have I done?"

* * *

"Doctor Emiya speaking, what is? WHAT?!" I had troubled believing my ears. "No, send them to surgery room, I'm going down myself." How in earth have you managed got_ shot _Shirou!?

Dialing Kiritsugu's workshop number, I shot up any complaints about traceability before he even started "Shirou got shot, and I need you in the hospital _right now_!" I barreled through the stairs running to the surgery room, where I heard the pre-surgery procedures already being applied.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself. "What's the patient status?"

"Both boy and girl have been run through a high-caliber bullet, have several fractures and burns. Apparently they have been hit by an explosive device of sorts, _then_ shot."

Boy _and_ Girl?!

* * *

I found Ilya waiting me at the hospital door, her eyes red from crying. After a brief explanation, I had resigned myself that my poor planning and hurry in dealing with this situation proved to be more than a_ little_ liability I previously assumed. Now I am going to hunt and _torture_ the answers out of that black haired kid right before I put her miserable existence to an _end._

"Kiritsugu Emiya, I presume?"

A man in a police officer's uniform met me by the door. "Yes."

"As you no doubt have known by now your son had been injuried-"

"Cut the crap, what do want to know or what do I _need_ to know."

"Sir," He started, but at my own glare he relented. "We have no clue of who or what perpetrated the injury, but we highly suspect it to be a criminal activity. We found bullet capsules-"

"Just do your job officer, I'm going to see my son." I rolled past him, until Ilya picked the chair and pushed me silently.

* * *

Both my son and his blonde companion were moved out of the surgery room due to a traffic accident right after the procedure was finished. Kiritsugu and Ilya were waiting me by the door, and by his expression I already _knew_ he was involved in that mess up to his ears.

"I don't want to know. Their condition is critical_ and_ unstable, and since your involvement just made this _infinitely_ worse, you're going to let me handle this now." He nodded. "Where is Yukari?"

Ilya fidgeted. "Home, she's… sleeping." I sighed.

"Go home and fetch her. I don't care _how_, but I want my daughter here soon."

I heard the dreaded sound of alarm of the Intensive Care Wing, I could hear Kiritsugu and Ilya with me, but once I crossed the door I lifted my hand and gestured them to stay put.

Looking fearfully at my son's bed, I could only see the other doctors tried to raise him back to life.

The heart monitor bliped once, than twice and I could see the head nurse falling on her backside, with the most surprised face I have ever seen.

"_It's a miracle_!"

I walked forward, hoping to see my son breathing at least…

What I saw would be forever engraved in my memory.

Stitches popped _out_ of skin, burned tissue mended and healed without letting a scar, even the patches of his hair that were cut during the surgical procedure grew up again. His breathing stabilized, and his heart rate slowed to a deep sleep. Looking at him, no one could guess he was _dead_ a minute ago.

I started breathing again, and shot a fierce look at Kiritsugu. No, it _couldn't_ be him. He had stated countless times he didn't had the power to heal himself or prevent Ilya from dying early, so he wouldn't have a way of doing _this_.

But if isn't him, then _who_ it was?

* * *

"Well, Miki Sayaka. What's the wish that will make your Soul Gem shine?"

"I wish for Shirou and Mami to be alive and healthy!"

* * *

I awoke inside Unlimited Blade Works.

Nice, I'm either dying or being mentally assaulted again. I might as well see what's happening.

I jumped on top the immense Lancea Longini's shaft, holding one of the twisted spirals to look and take in the changes around my soul. Endless Ocean to the East, large mountains on the south, grassy plains as far as I can see both in the North and East, and a sweet smell in wind.

"Hey, Shirou! Come to visit us again?"

"Huh?" I looked up at Sylph's form, immediately regretting my choice.

"For Root's sake! Put some panties on!" I look to the other way.

"Why I love the breez- What's _that_ Shirou?" She pointed at the southern mountains. Some sort of _blackness_ manifesting itself, engulfing my internal world…

Am I really _dying_? Is this my end?

It was advancing, and advancing _fast_. Closer and closer, nothing visible under the unnatural shadow.

Sylph held me and cried. "Shirou, I don't wanna die!"

"I don't want either!"

Then it occurred me. It's _my_ soul. I just have to wish it hard enough and it will be.

_"My body was forged as a sword,"_ The darkness receded just a bit.

_"This blood has been spilled for many causes,"_

_"This soul has been tempered by many paths,"_ the endless dawn shone brighter.

_"Though many roads, I've faced countless foes,"_

"Go, Shirou, its working!"

_"Never retreating,"_

"Never once accepting defeat,"

_"Bearing pain for the sake of others,"_ Swords I knew had been destroyed manifested themselves again,

_"Neither regretting, nor forgetting those I protected,"_

_"My bonds know no limits,"_ a golden light shone in the sky, as if the sun had just finished rising.

_"My hands bear the__** Unlimited Blade Works.**__"_

Darkness engulfed my eyes after the light and I was conscious no more.

* * *

I woke up in the ground again. I felt I just evaded a fate _worse _than death.

"You're awake!" Sylph was going to jump me, but apparently Undine took mercy at my predicament ant trapped her in a bubble.

"Cool your head, less you hurt him _even_ more." The water spirit put her cool tail on my head and I felt the headache diminishing.

"What kind of stupidity did you do_ this time_? Look at this place!" Salamander pointed at the once more at the barren plains of Unlimited Blade Works, and I noted a sense of emptiness in my chest. "It took us ages to _fix it_ and you just destroyed it again! _Idiot_."

"…"

"I agree, Gnome-kun." Undine pushed a Salamander back, a brief cloud of steam manifesting itself. "You need to take better care of your soul. You can't be a hero _without_ one." She chided me.

I nodded seriously, and she smiled at me. "Good that you understand. Now, I have gone for too long without a man…" Her hands caressed my chest.

"Ah, wait!"


	17. Unbroken Blade

_**CHAPTER 4 - UNBROKEN BLADE**_

* * *

Shirou woke up to the familiar sound of Yukari's light snoring, a pair of small arms tight around his torso.

Looking behind her, he could see white walls, white ceilings with sterile looking lights, a metal tube bed, and a few complicated looking devices near the bed.

Great, he was in a hospital. "… then again, that explains this long weird dream I had, I guess that was the medicine working through my system." The boy still remembered some things about that feverish night when his mother decided to do an exam years ago and he reacted badly to some chemicals he had to take before the test.

"Shirou, you're awake?" A calm and feminine voice asked from behind. Maneuvering his way under his sister's embrace, he found himself looking at the delicate face of Tomoe Mami.

Not a dream it seems…

"_Omygoditwasn'tadrream youwerealmosteaten wewerefightingwitches Iwasfighingtoo you'reamagicalgirl!_" The boy's heart accelerated so much that one of nearby devices started to beep angrily.

"Wow, wow,_ breath_, Shirou." She got up from his bed, and neared the boy. "Don't die on me, ok?"

Unable to talk, he just nodded.

"Now speak slowly. What is wrong?"

He embraced the girl. "We almost died! We almost died! I am scared!" He cried desperately. "I don't want to fight witches anymore! I don't want you to fight witches anymore!"

"Shhh, shhh, is alright, is _alright_."

"_I_ don't think so." Another voice entered the room. "Tomoe Mami: 33 broken bones, perforated lungs, fractured skull, mild brain hemorrhage, internal hemorrhage, 20% of the body covered in second degree burns, multiple lacerations needing a estimate total of 560 stitches to close. Minato Emiya: Micro-Fractures through C-2 to C-4 vertebrae, and other minor lesions on the spine, Heavy concussion, internal hemorrhage, 24 fractured bones, destruction of microcapillaries all over the body for unknown causes, estimate neural damage of 67% of the total nerves also from unknown cause, body overheat of unknown causes to the point some organs were irreparably damaged, 15% of the body covered in second degree burns, multiple lacerations needing a estimate total of 620 stitches to close" The voice sounded livid. "It's_ not_ alright. Somehow, you two _survived_, and without even a scar. It was a _miracle_." Takami stepped into the light. "A miracle I don't want to depend on, so you're going to explain this." She glared at her son. "And you will not endanger yourself again," The woman turned to the girl. "and neither will you, if you want to be my _daughter-in-law_." She glared at the blonde girl.

"Eh?" Both teens looked at her.

"You're his girlfriend, right?" The doctor raised one eyebrow, still enraged, but also curious. Shirou looked like he was going to say something, but Takami silenced him with a glare.

Tomoe Mami, veteran of dozens of witch battles, hesitated. That was a scary woman. "I guess." Blushing furiously she nodded.

Apparently that was the correct answer. "Then keep this brick head out of trouble." So the white haired woman nodded satisfied.

"How come_ I_ don't have a say in this?"

"Didn't you say I'll never leave me alone back then?" The magical girl said in a small voice, the red creeping back at her face.

"What does that have to do with anything? Madoka-chan said it _too_!"

"You're an idiot." Takami pointed. "Now, what was that you two were saying about _witches_?" Both kids paled.

* * *

Shirou walked the endless expanses of his empty reality marble. He was not awakening with mere concentration, and he wasn't finding a way out.

And something felt _wrong_.

Dangerously _wrong_.

"Come on! Where are you going?" The spirit of air whined.

"Walking aimlessly is not going to help anything." Undine said in a neutral tone. He forced himself to keep concentrated.

* * *

"Wait, so you made have to fight these witch things to keep people safe and you're the only one who can?" Takami massaged her temples. Couldn't things be _simple_ for a change?

"Well, Homura can do it too, and so can other Magical Girls." The doctor twitched at the mention of Magical Girls.

"Wasn't Homura the one who attacked you and Shirou back then?"

"No, she refused to work together, so I tied her up until she calmed down, but she hasn't attacked us." Then the magical musketeer added under her breath: "_Yet._"

"And that Kyubey guy wants to make Shirou a magical _girl_ too?" No, the headache wasn't going away.

"Yes, well, I think it have to do with the fact he can do some weird magic even as a _normal _person."

"Well, Kiritsugu _did _say my family seems to have some magic potential." Takami mused. "But you're not fighting witches anymore, _right_?"

"I can't do that, Takami-san!" The blonde haired girl said. "I'm_ bound_ to do it, and if I don't, people will get hurt, even _killed_!"

"People get hurt, and killed every day." The woman pointed deadpan. "Why does a _little girl_ is tasked to try and change that?"

"Mami-san is right. Shouldn't we do something since we can?" Shirou jumped in the Magical Girls defense.

"And she made a contract. If her Soul Gem darkens completely, bad things will happen." A new voice entered the conversation.

Takami, looked at the source and twitched. "What is _that_?"

"I'm Kyubey." The cute creature tilted its head while it spoke, his lips never moved.

"I thought you were a_ person_!"

* * *

It took half an hour to convince Takami it was _absolutely necessary_ that I helped fight witches, and even then, the doctor said I had to talk to Kiritsugu, Shirou, erm _Minato's_ father about that, but the magus wasn't picking up his cellphone. Then it took half a day to convince her that Shirou could come together and would still be safe. I_ failed_, but I haven't managed to get two blocks away before he got to me, having sneaked out of the hospital when his mother wasn't looking.

"_The moment I need him, the idiot disappears. It's just like him." She had said, meaning Shirou's father. "You can go today, but if my son gets hurt because of you, I'll have Kiri find and hurt you… badly."_

I shivered at the memory of her expression... "Remember me to never p*ss off your mom again." I said to him seriously, to which he squeezed my hand reassuringly.

That made my heart skip a beat. I have a boyfriend. A boyfriend that knows about my magic powers, my responsibilities and not only _don't mind_ them, but wholeheartedly _approves_ them…

_I walked through the door, late at night, still in my magical girl outfit. Shirou was on the couch, seemingly waiting for me, and his face lightened as he saw me._

"_Tomoe-chan, Oakeri!" He embraced me in his strong arms. He grew up nicely in the years, but his kind and strong nature never changed. "How was the hunt?"_

"_It was nothing special, darling." I waved his concerns off. He kissed my forehead and the closed his face on mine, his hand delicately tilting my face upwards…"_

"What are you thinking about?" He looked at me. "Your face is all red…"

"It's nothing. Nothing _at all_." I dismissed my thoughts with a shake of head. "Just spaced out for a second…"

He seemed a bit worried, but before I could say anything, he spoke: "Say, what do you think Madoka and Miki-san are you doing right now?"

I shrugged, doing my best not to look sad at his question. "I don't know. I tried to call them, but they're not picking the phone."

Madoka and Sayaka, huh. Now that I think of it, that is most of the Magical Girls are single, and isn't really difficult to see _why_. It would be difficult to keep a love life when you have to go out every night and this isn't something you can explain right out of the bat to a boy without _serious_ proof. To make it worse, most people don't see witches at all.

So either we have to find someone that can see them, or…

_As I opened the door, I was greeted by my life companion, Madoka, in her house-keeping clothes and that frilly apron of hers._

"_Wow, you came back fast today!" She tackled me into an embrace and caught my hands in hers, tiptoeing to close in…_

Nah. Madoka would be too shy to kiss me like _that_. Sayaka on the other hand... she would probably do it without a thought, I _think_.

_She took me in her arms and brought me closer, her hands on my waist the only thing supporting my weight, and I could see my own reflection in her eyes…_

"WHAT THE HELL I'M THINKING?!" Thankfully, I managed to keep my voice low. Shirou still jumped a whole meter before he noticed there wasn't any danger on sight.

"Are you really alright?" He was a bit uncertain. It's me or he is a bit _strange_ today. Then again, he almost died in a battle who wasn't really _his_. Maybe it was for the better if I only involved myself with other Magical Girls…

Wait!? Doesn't that leave me with… _Homura_!?

_I looked at her impassive face, and she didn't show even a twitch, even if I could see the emotions playing on her dark eyes…_

"_Not happening_." I felt my face contort into a sour expression.

Shirou looked at me strangely again. "Don't worry about it." I reassured him, grabbing his hand again. I don't have to think about these things. I have him to give me strength, and he have me to protect him. With luck and a bit of faith, everything is going to end well…

We found the source of the magical presence shortly after, back an alley in the commercial district.

"Well, at least is only a Familiar. I wouldn't want to face a witch the day I'm released from hospital." I smiled, and we took the first steps down.

The place changed, looking like the crayon drawings of a child, hill and stick trees, and animal shapes painting the walls of the place. The stairs also seemed to stretch longer than should be possible, and I could hear a noise similar to a motorcycle in the distance.

I felt frightened by the memories of my last fight, but a thought brought a musket to my hands, and I focused, squashing any fears down, and we hurried our pace down.

Madoka was down there, Miki-san too, clad in a white cape of sorts, a sword in her hands. Then Shirou seemed to lock up, and then started muttering a jumbled mess of words without any sense or reason…

"-ord bl-de hilt saber thirteen hours seventeen minutes thirty seconds reinforced sharpness one witch killed by it blade _bone _**sword** steel **fire** _**blood…"**_

"_**- am - - of - sword…" **_He hitched.

I held him, worried that it might be the familiar doing, but he seemed to be as free of magic as my Soul Gem could detect…

* * *

I have walked for what felt like hours, until I met the center of my Inner World. I saw Kanshou and Bakuya, I saw Caliburn and Avalon, and I sat by them to rest a bit.

The time stretched for hours, since I didn't see much point in wandering aimlessly. Either Zelrech is going to push me to another world, or I'm going to awake from my coma and continue my fight here.

Then I felt _it_.

That inescapable tug at my consciousness, that unmistakable pull of my very _being_, the sound of steel being buried in the earth. I had acquired another blade.

And that was completely _impossible_.

I looked at the Calvary style blade, heavy hilt covered in leather, brass guard, a slightly curved tempered steel blade, a blue crystal looking material adorning the blood groove. Small thorn vines patterns adorned the guard, and a small blue gem was inlaid on the base of the hilt.

The pull got _stronger_.

* * *

"…irou! Wake up! Shirou!" I heard Mami and Madoka's voices calling for me, and the grating ring of steel meeting steel. My body felt stronger than before, but my magic circuits didn't react to my attempt to feed Avalon with Prana.

Despite my dizziness and headache, I lifted my head and focused my vision, finding a red clad Magical Girl with a spear. How did I even got here, wherever _here _is?

"Run and hide under the boob girl's skirt, will you!" The newcomer taunted Miki. "Weakling." I felt Mami tense behind me, her Musket trained on the girl's legs.

Miki tensed, and she lifted her sword, the same sword that seemingly brought me back. "There's just no _talking_ with you, right?"

"It's how the world works, newbie." She started walking forward, her spear being dragged back in a relaxed, but still ready position. "Witches hunt humans, _we_ hunt witches. It's like the food chain, if you remember that lesson from school." She didn't stop as she neared the blue clad swordswoman, on the contrary, she advanced without slowing, forcing the newly christened Magical Girl to back down.

"That is_ wrong_! Humans are _not_ food! You can't let people_ die_ just because you may gain something from that!" I was up and shouting at her face before I knew it, and she flicked the shaft of her weapon at me expertly.

I evaded. Or, well, I _tried_. My reinforcement failed, and my human speed wasn't enough to get out of her range fast enough. I was thrown at the wall, and I felt the air leaving my lungs at once, triggering a fit of coughing. She didn't seem to have moved_ at all_.

"You disagree? Prove me wrong with your_ hands_. The strong rules, the weak _obey_. That is the truth of the world." She showed a smirk that overlapped with an image of a black clad, white haired woman with a long blade… Then Red turned to the blue Magical Girl. "Don't tell me you made this contract to play a ridiculous hero game and save people, instead of getting something out of it?" She ignored me in favor of the two Magical Girls.

"Saving people is_ never_ wrong!" I dashed forward, a long rust pipe in my hand. She made another swipe with her weapon, and I stole a move from Chihiro's book: I let the shaft of her weapon hit mine, bend forward, I spun on my heels, adding my own strength to hers and delivered a fast sweeping strike to her side. Her spear broke into a sectioned chain, and her blade cut half of mine and stopping my assault, but I evaded her counter _high_, stepping on one of the pipe laden walls and pushed myself to an Asuna-like linear pierce, taking advantage of the sharp tip she provided me herself.

Faster than my human limited speed, the butt of her weapon met my side, and I rolled with it, ignoring the pain and twisting, changing my blow to a parry of her blade, which cost me another length of pipe. Spinning again, I reversed my makeshift weapon and struck at her inner arm, torso and dropping to the floor, another strike behind her knees, kicking back when she tried to retaliate, flipping on my hands, picking the longer section of the pipe with my free hands and dropping on my favored style's position.

Everyone _stared_ at me.

"What in the world… what _are_ you..?" Her voice was hitched in anger as she dragged her slowly recovering perforated leg forward. "Where in the world have you leaned to fight like _that_?"

I smirked. "Through a thousand worlds, where monsters ruled, where swords commanded, from the apocalyptic wastes of the rebuild capital, in a castle that floated in the sky..."

"Don't give me that shit!" She fell for my taunt, and this time I was reinforced, even if it meant enduring the pain of a _makeshift_ circuit.

I never needed to worry. Before she took a step, she was wrapped in a thousand ribbons, which anchored themselves to the walls and pipes.

"You don't expect me to stay looking while you go harass my boyfriend right in _front of me_, right?" Mami hit Red's head with the butt of her weapon and Red passed out.

_Boyfriend_?

What in the world happened while I was unconscious?


	18. The Enemy of My Enemy

_**CHAPTER 5 - THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY**_

* * *

I looked impassively at the scene below. Sakura Kyouko has just lost to the powerless little anomaly that has been throwing _all_ my plans and notes out of the window since day one. I should just shoot him and get this over with.

But I _can't_. What if he starts showing up from now on? What if his yet-to-be-seen powers are of _some_ use against the Walpurgis?

Well, in the worst case scenario, he turns to be a liability and I start _killing_ him from day o-

I stop time as soon as I heard the mechanical action of the gun, turning around to find the silver haired girl and a bullet _still coming_ to my direction.

* * *

Down to it, our powers are as different as they're similar. She can stop time. I can make my own time runs faster or slower regardless of the world's own time. I'm her only counter, she is my worst enemy.

She also uses modern weaponry, yet her bullets stop as soon as they leave her gun, while mine speed up or slow down to _my_ time ratio as long as they're infused with magic.

I activate the bounded field of warped time, _then_ pull the trigger. If first shot fails I'm good for two, _maybe_ three bursts, but I have accounted to _that_ too.

She does her trick, and turns, the bullet merely grazing her side, and pulls a submachine gun from god knows _where_. With my Beretta, I reinforce my own senses, and shot down a few bullets with my own before she unfreeze time, avoiding my immediate demise.

I retaliate with my own burst of fire, and jump out of the ledge of the building, quickly maneuvering myself _inside_ of the top floor. Discarding the used clip and loading another, I put my trusty submachine gun in my bag and get the anti-material rifle I got just to this occasion.

'_Close your eyes and focus on what you can't see._' Dad always said when training my magical sense.

So I did, making sure that I can _see_ her, even with my eyes closed, even with the roof between us.

I release a shot, then another, then another, until the entire clip is wasted, then pull my contender and go to the opposite direction she was moving, using the quickly reinforced curtains to propel myself in the air, and taking aim to her chest before even meeting the floor.

Her shoulder nearly explode in a shower of blood, and she retaliate with a grenade forcing me to jump to the opposite building in the accelerated time.

Somehow I _wasn't_ fast enough.

The shockwave from the explosive device hits my back, and I feel the blast with only my magically reinforced clothing in the way, the searing heat and pressure almost _ripping_ my limbs in that split second before they _break_ on landing.

I look at her, as she was fixing her shoulder with her own magecraft. This is as unfair as it's sad. She has better time control, she has healing magic, and apparently carries even more weapons than me _somehow_. I prepare the device I got for this very moment, and take her with me to at least protect my brother and redeem myself from my failure.

Another girl jumps in front of me. Rust colored hair, white coat and skirt, silver armor underneath.

* * *

I was kneeling to carry the newcomer, as we heard a series of explosions up on the buildings. I looked at Mami, but it was Sayaka who took her soul gem to check.

"Well, it isn't a witch."

That was when I saw her.

Ilya.

Ilya being thrown back by an unknown force.

A _bleeding_ Ilya being thrown back by an unknown force.

A bleeding Ilya being thrown back by an unknown force while _on fire_.

"Kyuubei. I wish to be capable to use all my abilities to their full extent."

A bleeding Ilya being thrown back by an unknown, and soon to be _inexistent_ force while on fire.

* * *

I woke up very confused. One moment I look at some sword, no _Knight's Blade_ my brain supplied. A very new, but quite powerful blade, capable of hurting supernatural entities and damaging area of effect magic and distortions.

How do I even _know_ that!?

"And where am I?!"

"…"

"_Unlimited Blade Works._" I whispered to myself, _something_ stirring inside of me, some words being heard but not understood as if I was listening from underwater.

Barren, empty earth, only a hill with those five blades back there, no six, The Magical Knight's Blade also flickered in and out of existence, as if it was an ephemeral dream.

Then the whole place changed.

White fire surged from the center, bringing green grass, from that hill and stretching to the end of my vision, where it formed forests, mountains and even the sea.

And blades, _uncountable_ blades. Small as daggers, some even smaller. Big as skyscrapers. Weak, common, rare, advanced, powerful, impossible weapons of old, new, and times yet to be…

"Wow! How did ya fix it so fast?" A childish voice spoke from above and behind.

I turned around to look… up the skirt of some green haired winged girl.

I stared a bit more.

"Shirou, you're kind of _creeping_ me out…"

That line broke me out of that sight's spell "Eh! How do you know my nickname?"

"What? Shirou is Shirou right?" She was suddenly engulfed in flames and started running around , while another girl, this one wearing flames as hair and _no_ clothes at all…

"I see what you mean now Sylph. This is not how _he_ acts at all. Besides, this one is shorter."

* * *

… back outside …

I stared at the dark haired girl in front of me, and she stared back for barely a second.

"Leave." Unfortunately, it didn't come out as intimidating as I wanted, with me being a _girl_ and all…

She pulled a gun on me, and I manifested several copies of the progressive knife between us, forming a wall, then other common weaponry to _rain_ at the other side.

My circuits felt _barely _warm.

I turned to Ilya, and traced a copy of Avalon to fix her wounds, as Mami arrived here. "What happened Shirou?"

"Homura attacked my sister."

"Is she ok?"

"Illya? She _will_ be. Let's go home." I left unsaid what I'll do to Homura should we cross ways again.

"Ok. Sayaka is going to drop Madoka home, but what about Reddie?" She raised one eyebrow at me, so I shrugged.

"It's not nice to leave a young girl alone in a dark alley downtown…" I didn't felt the need to elaborate further, and neither she to hear.

"I'll take her with us. But I'm keeping her tied." Mami looked like she wasn't happy. I shrugged again and took my sister in a princess carry.

* * *

She limped into my line of sight, from one of the back alleys, her body twitching at irregular intervals. I have no misconceptions about my own chances in a _direct_ confrontation, in my weakened state, but after witnessing the end of my daughter's fight I decided to take action personally and deal with this pint-sized menace before she have the chance to improve her already impressive magecraft.

Besides, if there's one thing I can do better than my daughter is ignoring _pain_. I can certainly push myself beyond the point of breaking and survive, just by having Avalon within me.

She approached her own doorstep, and I made the necessary corrections on the scope, and focused all the prana I could muster.

I pulled the trigger.

As Ilya described, I felt the world slow down, as if I changed from _acceleration_ to _stagnation_, and the girl tried to evade the shot, only succeeding in avoiding an _immediate_ kill.

I hadn't made the mistake my daughter did. The girl named Homura _was _dead, even if she didn't know just _yet_.

Packing my gear I retired myself for the night, before the administration of the shopping decided to shut down the elevators.

I'd rather not take the stairs in a wheelchair, it is anything but a comfortable option.

Reaching the basement and entering my van, I leave to the streets, casually pressing the detonator and blowing up the apartment she retreated into.

Time to go home and scold that stubborn daughter of mine. And my _son _too. At least if he don't present a _good_ reason for wearing a dress. Well, that and escaping the hospital ward too.

* * *

I arrived home under the guard of Mami and Sayaka, finding mother's disapproving glare by the door. Mami shrunk a bit on herself, and I could see Sayaka's hand trembling, thankfully Madoka was already on her house and safe for the night so at least she will be spared from seeing an angry Takami. As I stepped forward and gave my goodbyes to the girls (so I would at least spare them this grief), Dad surrounded them by the other side, simply rolling out of his black minivan.

"Ah ah ah-an." Takami sing-songed in a disturbingly cheerful tone. "It's too late and dark and I'd never forgive myself if Minato's friends were attacked on their way back home. You two are _welcome_ to stay the night. In fact, I'd _love_ to get to know you better!" She opened the door in a welcome gesture, though the girls could see her smile was not of the _friendly_ kind.

"Not you Minato." Dad spoke gravely. "Let Ilya with Takami, and help me bring the Redhead to her quarters for the night." I knew _what_ he meant by that, and it wasn't a good thing. Even if Reddie was not the nicest person around, I'm sure she doesn't deserve dad's punishment whatever it is.

"It's Ok dad. I got it." I replied firmly, trying to keep my voice from reaching the higher pitches.

"I _insist_." He was a bit more firm, a tone my now recovered memories associated with time-out and small punishments if he wasn't obeyed, but the stacks were too high for me to even consider.

I shook my head, and my throat produced a 'un-un' sound a tad too high pitched, and dad sighed surprising me with a full 'Magus Killer' _Glare_ (that _yes_, deserved the capital): "Hand the girl over to me." His tone was positively _Glacial_ (also deserving capital).

"Sorry dad. You're not hurting her unless we have no choice." I replied without fear, as I have faced worse threats to bodily harm and even planetary destruction twice.

I heard a weapon being drawn. "Dad?!"

"What did _you_ do to Minato?" I sighed. This is going to be a long night, and an even _longer_ talk.

"I am Shirou Emiya. Just not the one you know." The weapon was aimed at my head. I could _feel_ the Origin bullet inside. "Zelrech has sent me to a lot of universes, I don't know if to _fix_ a few hopeless situations or just to laugh at my misfortune." He had relaxed somewhat at the mention of Zelrech, but I was still under the aim of a potentially lethal anti-magus bullet. "Dad? Can we finish talking inside?" I traced Avalon to prove my identity, and his eyes widened in surprise.

He took a long breath, culminating in a long sigh. "I too old for this shit."

"Not as old as _I am_. I lost count by now, but I swear I'm almost a hundred years old." I said off-handedly.

He looked at me strangely. "A _hundred_, you say?"

"Yeah… You wouldn't believe half of the crap I have seen." For once I was able to get it off my chest. "Dad…" I put the Red haired girl in the couch, and turned full attention to my father.

"…I…"

"…I missed you." I gave him a hug.

"It's alright son." He hugged me back.

* * *

Kyubei looked at the girl pulling herself out of the rubble. She looked so small, so fragile.

Objectively speaking, she was fragile. All humans are. Not the most fragile existence in the universe, but much farther from the stronger ones.

If their power was to be quantified, 95% of it would come from their emotions, not even 1% from their physical forms.

So much potential, yet so little exploited. At least the Incubators were allowed to change that.

They couldn't rob humanity of all their members, but they could take a few with more potential, for the sake of the race, and other species all over the galaxy and even beyond.

"What are you looking, Incubator?" The girl knew of his mission, it seems. He only revealed his title to those who knew.

"Your leg stills there." He replied. Intellectually, he knew the girl was in pain, her face's expression also confirmed the fact. "If you lose too much blood you'll die." He didn't know what pain was, beyond the scientific description of 'Neural sign of bodily damage'. His species didn't feel pain.

His species felt nothing, actually.

He understood damage though. He understands life and death too, to a certain extent. Survival and destruction he preferred to consider, as some of his memories from older interactions registered one of his contractors saying there was a difference between both set of words.

_The girl smiled, her blue eyes accepting her death even when she was put to death by fire, under claims of being a witch. Not that she was one at that point. "There's a difference between being alive and __**living**__ 'chouchou'." She smiled, even imprisoned in chains. She could escape with a minor application of magic, sure, but her gem was already dangerously dark. "I'm still living, even when I had to kill my friends. I __**chose**__ to die for that sin, and by dying I'll __**not**__ be broken."_

_She mocked him on her very end. Like he'd somehow feel angry or offended by her lack of logic. She refused to keep the connection she could sever, enduring the pain that the humans said to be so uncomfortable, instead of simply crushing her own gem and dying._

_Their eyes crossed, a crooked smile in her face, eyes like the bleeding girl on the floor, and she mouthed "__**by choice**__" before she fell unconscious._

The memories returned to where they belong, and he turned his attention to said girl on the floor. "Are you choosing to die?" It was a genuine question. Since he didn't understand emotion on an emotional level, certain situations were beyond his scope of prediction.

His question was ignored, and the leg was reattached after she managed to take it from under the rubble. Her gem darkened further. So close, yet so far. She pulled a grief seed, cleansing her taint to manageable levels.

He did understand commitment, and the girl's level of commitment was worth praise, well, humans liked praise for their qualities at least. What he didn't understand was the intensity she displayed on her commitment. He could name, the humans had a created word for that… Determination?

Yes, humans defining trait was emotion. And the emotion that defined Homura's existence was determination. Thus, Homura's defining trait was Determination itself.


	19. - Silver Wing Nights -

A familiar smell assaulted my nostrils, sweet, honeyed, with a hint of fire, and a tint of pine, like the northern winds. I smiled satisfied, as if I just recovered something long lost or forgotten.

"Shirou? Are you awake?" I looked up at the familiar voice. Blonde hair, green eyes, a stern expression, still in pajamas, watching me from the bathroom door.

"Saber." I closed and kissed her, before she _blushed_, then _jumped_ back, crashing against a dresser and then into the floor, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"What was _that_ Shirou!?"

Then I stopped for a moment, recalling my last memories being going to sleep in a _different_ house, Takami berating me for putting myself in danger and disregarding her worries again, clipboard working as the harshest of the sleep inducing medicines…

Then I woke up in a dark room, bottom bunk bed, simple desk, plus an attached bathroom, all in all, a small space, but quaint and organized.

Alas, I'm in a school dorm of sorts.

* * *

_**KALEIDOSCOPE - PART FIVE - ****SILVER WING NIGHTS**_

_**PROLOGUE - THE ASSIGNMENT**_

* * *

And now that I'm paying attention, I'm younger than ever before. Even smaller than when I had to deal with the Incubator and save those girls… Maybe around ten, no more than eleven years old.

'Just how _many more times_, Zelrech?' I buried my face in the pillow hiding my soundless scream 'Just how many times must I go through school _again_!?' I could probably _teach_ those classes by now!

"Shirou." I heard Saber's voice, laced with concern and worry "Are you ill, perhaps?" and I racked my brain for a few answers regarding my current situation.

I'm Shirou Emiya, currently a final year of the advanced magic course student in Meridiana Academy of magic, Wales, and she is Arturia Lillian Pendragon. As for why she bunk with me, well, when I first entered the school, the older students got kind of mad at my age, since I am sort of a prodigy in this world, so the staff asked if I could stay at the girls dorm. So I'm just her friend and nothing else, and she is kind of my caretaker well, since I'm ten and all…

I could feel her stare on me. "Just sleepy, that's all."

"I see…" She mused "Perhaps we should skip morning classes, considering you _did_ spend all the previous nights studying for the finals. We only have to attend afternoon's class for our assignments." I could see the conflict of interests playing in her eyes. She didn't want to skip classes, but she would stay for my sake.

"Nah, I'm ok." I jumped out of the bed and moved to the corner of the room where a mini-fridge, a cooking top and electric oven disputed space with a small sink and a countertop. Limited tools, but well, for one that has the backing of experience, such as me, that is not an issue. Then I looked at the contents of the fridge and paled. All the readily edible stuff had been eaten already.

Flour, oil, eggs, barely two cups of milk and other raw materials. I sighed. It seems I forgot how much Saber could eat in a sitting…

* * *

After a brief breakfast consisting of pancakes with syrup and lemon tea, I stepped out of my room, only to almost hit the waist of one of my classmates, one Luviagelita Edefelt, who smiled and waved me from the book she was reading.

"Shirou?" She called out to me.

"Yes?" There was _something_ in her tone… But I couldn't put my finger on _what_ exactly it_ meant_. Maybe because it was too long since I saw her?

"Can we talk in _private_ for a moment?" She shot a look at Saber, no, at Arturia, and invited me into another, I presume her's room.

"Tea?" She offered, but I shook my head. "Well, I know we have discussed this before, but my family lineage insists I place a formal request: Emiya-san, would you help me with my assignment?" She asked in a serious tone.

"Uhn, sure." It's not like I'm some sort of genius, but I have been doing school assignments_ long enough_ to at least help.

Apparently that wasn't the answer she was expecting. "You're _serious?_" She blinked, her voice and posture surprised.

"Well, yes, I mean, _why not?_" I shrugged lightly.

"Ah," Raising a finger and slightly tilting her head, she assumed a posture reminiscent, yet different of the lecture poses Rin favored. "what about your own?"

"We do yours, then we do mine, what do you think?" I offered, after thinking about it for a moment. Her knowledge of things my local self _should_ know would prove invaluable and my general knowledge of studying methods and experience are sure to be of help.

"You know, you're _really_ a genius! Why did _no one_ thought of that before!?" Because people sometimes miss the obvious!? Well, it was the only answer I could think, yet _before_ I said a word, she _hugged_ me, which due to our height difference caused my head to sink in her noticeable assets for a second while she patted my head. At least she released me before I could suffocate.

She stood and stretched. "Now, since this is out of the way, lets P_actio!_"

"Pactio?"

"Of course silly! If you're going to be my Minister, Luvia-nee-san it's going to grant you the _best Artifact ever!_" She dragged me to her bedroom area by the arm.

"Ok, I had a circle drawn since yesterday, so this won't take a minute!" Then she picked the queen-sized bed and put it against the wall, like it weighted nothing, revealing a formalcraft circle drawn below.

"Now relax, I'll be gentle, just let my mana flow into you." I _paled._ We're going to make a _prana exchange ritual?!_ I'm _too young_ for that! I'm like, _ten! TEN!_

She pulled my numb self into the circle, and it flared into life, the foreign prana having the unexpected effect of arousing me, and before I could run away, she kissed me kneeling on the on the floor…

I kind of kissed back, half by instinct, half by the magic's influence I think, and it lasted a while, her hands running on my hair, my own caressing her soft tresses.

We parted, the spell breaking both figuratively and_ literally_ in this case. Her eyes were glazed for a second, until her expression turned into one of surprise.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she was still breathing heavily, and I just remembered my supposed age, which kind of explained her reaction.

"Eh… _Movies?_" I offered.

"Hmm." Her eyes unfocused for a second, as if she just vacated her own head for a moment, then she giggled and picked a card on the floor, a gesture making it into two.

"Thanks for a wonderful first kiss." Her smile was_ radiant._

I was still off balance, finally understanding Saber, well, Arturia's earlier reaction. "Ah, anytime." She blushed deeply.

"Well, let us depart to class."

We got in time alright, enough at least to hear a lecture of how to carry the secret of magic during our assignments and the importance of a Magister's job. I also understood why no one thought of my solution before: The assignment in question was a long-term task, who would not only test our magical abilities and strength of character, but also our capacity to blend in society.

I also understood the Pactio. While Magister, or master was the name given to a mage who helped people, Minister, or attendant was the name given to the persons he could empower to help him. So by accepting to help Luvia, I was _giving up _my task, at least for now, and helping her help people by doing whatever her assignment turned to be.

Well, at least I was more suited for direct combat than spellcasting, but it was kind of a disappointment when I discovered Rin was also considering me for a partnership (or so the class was saying).

And I also discovered that Luvia was so determined to partner with me, that she was willing to be the _partner!_

It turned out Rin also had an idea of _who_ to ask for a partnership, and I was torn between crying or smiling at the sight of her and Saber, Arturia exchanging glances and blushing like, well the schoolgirls they _were_, in anticipation to theirs yet-to-be (at least I think so) partnership.

Lunchtime came, and I was visited by Kiritsugu and Irisviel, who were my parents in _this_ reality. Dad was kind of disappointed when I told him I had accepted a partnership with Luvia, but mom…

Mom was _ecstatic_. She asked all sort of questions about the young lady I had chosen, and how she was proud of me, even if she never expected me to like older girls (I suppose that part was teasing for the kiss), and how not even Ilya, one year after her own assignment had a partner yet.

I also met Maiya, whom I vaguely remember my own Saber telling me about, who was my Father's partner in this world.

We had lunch together, making small talk and trying to guess what kind of assignment Luvia would take, mom making all sorts of outlandish suggestions, while dad made quite a few mundane ones, before I had to be back to my last class before the graduation ceremony, and the reveal of my mistress' task.

Except that hearing Rin on one of the empty classrooms, I decided to take a peek.

"One more time!" She grabbed Saber Arturia by the cheek, and _kissed _the flustered and out of breath blonde deeply, for what seemed like _minutes_.

The card appeared in the air, and she snatched it, both girls flustered and breathing even more erratically, drool glistening in both their mouths and a few running down their chins. It would be quite an _erotic_ vision, weren't the expression in Rin's face.

She was _furious_.

The pigtailed wearing girl threw the card into the air and _incinerated_ it, huffing angrily like a cat. "_Why_ dammit!? Why can't it work like it_ should_?!"

Saber was going to say something, but Rin kissed her _again_ and other card appearing out in the air.

Rin _ripped _that one to _shreds_.

And she tried _again_.

I left.

Nothing good would come from staying there, and I'm _dead _if Rin ever finds me.

* * *

_"So, how was your pactio?" I asked Saber (aaarrrrgghhh, It's confusing __**dammit!**__) Arturia as soon as she sat on the chair besides me. She froze, a blush fighting its way with an expression of pure helplessness the likes I only saw on my own Saber when Rin was on her kinky days._

_"Mistress is most… __**enthusiastic**__." She said, and even if most couldn't, I saw her response was as authentic as the moon image you could see on a lake at night was the real thing._

_I nodded, and she relaxed._

After classes, we left to our dorms to prepare for the ceremony, and I made the most embarrassing discovery ever:

"Say that again?"

"Don't even try. I warded the window. You're coming to _bath _even if I have to drag you by your feet." Apparently my local self disliked baths.

And so the girls of the dorm (mostly Saber Arturia) took on the task of keeping him clean… Which sentenced me to bathe with someone who was absolutely identical to my _former lover_, who saw me as a _kid_, and I would _never _be able to have that way.

"Can't I do it myself?" I pleaded mercy.

"Considering your previous attempts and escape tries like last time?" She crossed her arms, still blocking the door. "No." The hammer of the judge fell down.

The sentence: An hour of _suffering and bliss_, a _blessing and a curse_ packed into one tiny packaged called Arturia.

I only cried.

* * *

My name was called, I received my certificate, and the task therein contained. I couldn't open it though, for it would signify my acceptance, and I'd be impossibilited to attend to Luviagelita in hers. My dad came to congratulate me, my mom hugged me and spun me around until I fell from her arms and in the middle of a crowd of onlookers, much to dad and Maiya's embarrassment.

Sa Arturia came to greet father and mom and then I introduced Luvia to them, mom _hugged_ her, dad threatened her (yes, _he did_), Maiya took her to the side and whispered something (that judging her reaction was a _threat_ too), and then both women started teasing us about the pactio. I understand we_kissed_, but what is the big deal (well, besides our age difference I mean)? It's like they're expecting us to _marry _or something like that (certainly _not_ the case, seeming that Maiya is dad's partner even if he is Married to Iri).

Then dad said something I was also itching to know: He asked about the _card_.

"Ensis Justitiam. The Sword of Justice. Sounds like an artifact name rather than a title, though it does have a nice ring to it." Luvia read out loud. "It's a Silver Color, Number 8, Direction Center, with an Affinity to Jupiter and Charity as Virtue…" She trailed off, putting the card on the table.

"But what of the _artifact_?"

"We haven't had the time to try." I shrugged. Judging by the picture, it was probably the swords anyway.

"I like the outfit!" Mom completely broke the tense atmosphere, pointing that Archer's clothing, or at least a close approximation (the coat was a single piece, and wasn't wearing the armor bellow, not to mention I had a scarf too.) looked good on me.

As we left for the night, after dinner, Rin waited at our room's door along an embarrassed S Arturia.

"So you show your_ true colors_, taking advantage of a little kid?" She said to Luvia, and I had to suppress the urge to roll my eyes. That was as obvious a bait than the old please don't push the red button of cartoon villains.

"This will _not _end well…" I said to _Arturia_ (I got it right!), who just moved to my side, a safe distance from the incoming catfight.

"I agree. It's bound to end in tears." She giggled. "Still, sorry about Rin. She had been a little on the edge with today's incident…" She blushed lightly, and made a weird face, and I frowned.

"What was the deal with your Pactio anyway?" She looked at me feigning ignorance. Didn't fooled me for a sec.

She sighed, and passed me the card from her pocket without a word.

It depicted Rin. _Catgirl _Rin in a pretty red dress holding a pink winged scepter. "Prismae striga puella." I read.

She picked the card back. "Keep it a secret, will you? Rin is…"

Whatever she was going to say after, our Magisteres decided to drown in their shouts. "FINE! Let's read it together!" They counted to three and _yelled _at once:

"TEACHER IN JAPAN!" Both girls yelled in unison. "WHAT!?" I looked at the _stunned _Luvia, while Rin _stomped _the ground walking away and saying she was going to have _words _with the principal.

"At least we well be able to get together from time to time." Saber (just because I relaxed!) Arturia said to me.

"Sure, anytime… And if you need any help, or just a friend to talk to, don't hesitate to call." I smiled even if I wanted to cry inside: 'I want to be _more_ than a friend dammit! But I can't! I'm is ten! _TEN!'_

"You too. Don't be a stranger little brother." She messed my hair and left after Rin.

"So… a teacher huh?" I said to my mistress.

"Yep. And you'll be my assistant." She smiled. Then looking at the direction Rin departed too, her face turned haughty. "And we will be much better than Rin's pathetic attempts of…" She blinked. "I _don't know_ what she is going to teach." Another blink. "Heck, I don't know what _I'm_ going to teach!" With that and a hurried good night, she left to her room, probably to cram every subject she might think would prove useful. I sighed and left to pack.

* * *

Ensis Justitiam - The Sword of justice.

Primae Striga Puella - Prismatic Witch Child.


	20. Author's Notes

Author's note:

This is a Forum made story, originally published in the Shirou Emiya : Eroge Protagonist thread of The Mechanics of In Flight forums.

The Premise is simple: Zelrech, bored from the lack of development in the 'In Flight' universe, sends Shirou for a tour in the Multiverse.

While the stories are being written simultaneously, they will be posted in ordered groups in the compilation as soon as I have enough material for a chapter and they are revised.

As all of my Forum-written stories, please refer to this chapter for the list of recent updates and check _Gabriel Blessing's_ story: _Shirou Emiya Erogame Protagonist_ for the prologue and his sides of the story (currently Monster Girl Quest).

I usually use _Italics_ as intonation emphasis on a single or few words, **Bold** for special emphasis or shouting and the line breaks

Like this:

* * *

For times skips, Point-of-View changes or both. Specific time skips are usually identified.

If you're really hungry for updates, have something to add or suggest for the story or are just look for a good way to pass the time, visit us at the forum:

http www fanfiction net topic 88086 60756958 1 Shirou-Emiya-Eroge-Protagonist

Just remember to leave your sanity by the door and bring your brain bleach for eventualities.

...

Last Updates:

3. Arc 2 Lovely Troubled Nights - Prologue: A Shooting Star - To Love Ru Crossover

12. Sky's Castle Nights - The Battle of the Lake

18. Dark Magical Nights - The Enemy of My Enemy


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